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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · mate · pitcher · row · squash · season · hand · key

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. row — to paddle
  5. mate — a friend
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. hand — help
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. key — the most important part
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com