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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rash — hasty
  6. net — after costs
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. net — for catching
  9. rash — a series
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kick — in football
  13. bass — low music
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bass — the fish
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ball — a dance

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