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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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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: deal · pitch · drill · cabinet · rest · wound · file · band

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. band — a music group
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wound — an injury
  5. drill — army training
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. wound — an injury
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. band — a ring
  11. drill — a practice
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — a break
  18. file — a tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cabinet — ministers

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