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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · tear · march · sharp · band · rock · foot · rest

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. march — the month
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rest — a break
  11. band — a ring
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tear — to rip
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. band — a music group
  21. rock — music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rest — what's left
  24. foot — a measure

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