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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 120 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: patient · pitcher · snap · craft · kick · stock · root · capital

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. stock — goods
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. root — the cause
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. root — of a word
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. craft — boats
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. stock — shares
  23. root — of a plant
  24. stock — a soup base

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