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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: march · degree · net · craft · trunk · rest · track · pitch

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. craft — boats
  3. track — to keep track
  4. net — after costs
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. track — a path
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. track — a song
  16. net — for catching
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. march — music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. march — the month
  23. net — in sport
  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