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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 120 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: present · kick · season · wound · key · band · hand · can

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. key — for a lock
  3. can — a tin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — of the year
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. can — to be able to
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wound — an injury
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. band — a music group
  15. hand — help
  16. can — a tin
  17. kick — in football
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. season — in sport
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. present — a gift
  22. band — a ring
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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