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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. march — music
  8. present — the time now
  9. scale — in music
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a line
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. scale — size or range

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