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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. current — happening now
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — a video
  7. spell — letters
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. dip — to sink
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. rash — a series
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spell — magic
  15. march — the month
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rash — hasty
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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