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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: hand · season · squash · face · drill · clip · key · deal

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. drill — the tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. key — for a lock
  6. season — of the year
  7. clip — for paper
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. clip — a video
  10. face — part of the head
  11. key — the most important part
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. face — to confront
  15. deal — to handle
  16. drill — army training
  17. clip — to cut
  18. drill — a practice
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. squash — the sport
  22. face — to point toward
  23. key — in music
  24. squash — to crush

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