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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. band — a music group
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. suit — clothes
  7. field — for sport
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rash — a series
  17. suit — in cards
  18. clip — a video
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — a subject
  22. clip — for paper
  23. suit — to fit
  24. wound — an injury

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