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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: lash · net · content · patient · kick · rest · tear · date

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. net — in sport
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. net — after costs
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. net — for catching
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. date — the fruit
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. kick — in football
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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