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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. band — a music group
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — for paper
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — a video
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. snap — to click
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. kick — in football
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fan — a supporter

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