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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: rush · march · pitch · mouse · kid · rash · date · net

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. net — after costs
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. net — for catching
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. date — the fruit
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. rash — a series
  13. march — the month
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. march — music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitch — completely
  19. net — in sport
  20. rush — hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rash — hasty

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