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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: march · net · wake · trunk · pitch · branch · rash · cell

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. march — the month
  5. net — in sport
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rash — hasty
  8. branch — a division
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rash — a series
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. net — for catching
  23. march — music
  24. net — after costs

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