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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 · pit · march · toast · row · kick · pop · sharp

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. toast — bread
  3. pit — in a race
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tear — to rip
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — in football
  11. tear — from crying
  12. row — a line
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. march — music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — clever
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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