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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 · court · cabinet · fan · present · sharp · game · pitch

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. court — for sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. present — there
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. game — a match
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pitch — completely
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. court — of a king
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. court — of law

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