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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 · ball · capital · craft · mine · snap · net · kick

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. capital — money
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. capital — a city
  9. net — after costs
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ball — a dance
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. net — in sport
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ball — a great time
  17. craft — boats
  18. kick — in football
  19. snap — to click
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — for catching
  24. kick — with a leg

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