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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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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: file · band · shower · cap · wound · nail · pitch · deal

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. cap — a hat
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. file — a tool
  8. band — a ring
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pitch — completely
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. band — a music group
  13. wound — an injury
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — an injury
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. deal — an agreement

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