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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: craft · pitch · suit · face · field · court · band · racket

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. suit — to fit
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. suit — in cards
  7. band — a ring
  8. craft — boats
  9. court — of a king
  10. face — to confront
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. suit — clothes
  14. court — for sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. face — to point toward
  17. court — of law
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. band — a music group
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitch — completely
  22. face — part of the head
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. field — a subject

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