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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: march · safe · tear · roll · shower · pop · row · sharp

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. march — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pop — music
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — to rip
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. shower — rain
  10. roll — a list
  11. pop — soda
  12. row — to paddle
  13. shower — to wash
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. roll — a cake
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. sharp — clever
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — the month
  24. safe — out of danger

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