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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: net · craft · pitch · shower · court · temple · wind · current

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. current — electric
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. court — for sport
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. current — of water
  8. court — of a king
  9. shower — to wash
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. craft — boats
  13. current — happening now
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. wind — moving air
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. net — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — after costs
  22. craft — a skill
  23. shower — rain
  24. temple — side of the head

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