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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: tear · squash · pop · firm · march · jam · plane · sharp

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. squash — the sport
  5. firm — a company
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. tear — from crying
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pop — music
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tear — to rip
  14. firm — decided
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. firm — steady
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — to crush
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. pop — soda
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pop — to visit

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