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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: drill · cue · fan · ground · bat · season · key · hand

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — in music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. hand — in cards
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. drill — army training
  13. season — of the year
  14. ground — a position
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cue — a signal
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ground — the earth
  21. hand — help
  22. season — in sport
  23. cue — for pool
  24. ground — crushed

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