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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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468
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: rush · snap · craft · capital · plane · stock · cold · pit

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. cold — not warm
  5. capital — money
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. plane — a tool
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. craft — a skill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. capital — a city
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pit — in a race
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. snap — to click

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