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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. band — a ring
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. wound — an injury
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. craft — boats
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spell — letters
  15. craft — a skill
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. rock — music
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rock — a stone
  21. field — for sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. clip — a video

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