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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: pound · race · root · sharp · content · present · tube · drill

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. present — the time now
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. root — of a word
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. race — the arms race
  11. sharp — clever
  12. content — the amount
  13. pound — a weight
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. content — happy
  17. drill — army training
  18. tube — a container
  19. drill — a practice
  20. present — a gift
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. drill — the tool
  23. present — there
  24. pound — to hit hard

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