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

Word bank: clip · foot · pit · net · patient · lash · rule · wind

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pit — a hole
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. pit — in a race
  13. foot — a measure
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wind — moving air
  20. net — after costs
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rule — a law
  24. patient — a sick person

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