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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: race · drill · rush · foot · tube · prune · sharp · present

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — army training
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — hurry
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. race — humankind
  12. present — there
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. race — a contest
  17. present — the time now
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. tube — a container
  20. present — a gift
  21. foot — a measure
  22. race — the arms race
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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