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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 · hide · kick · file · pitch · wound · scale · cap

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. file — a document
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cap — of ice
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — in football
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. file — a tool
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wound — an injury
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. pitch — completely

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