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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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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: scale · pitch · march · net · date · press · track · court

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. march — the month
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. net — after costs
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. march — music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. net — for catching
  11. track — to keep track
  12. court — for sport
  13. march — the month
  14. track — a path
  15. press — to push
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitch — completely
  20. track — a song
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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