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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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Word bank
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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: straw · spell · wind · dip · lash · date · march · bear

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bear — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. spell — a short time
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. dip — to sink
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. date — the fruit
  23. march — the month
  24. lash — to lash out

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