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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: ground · present · content · rock · pound · stem · race · shower

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. content — the amount
  3. ground — the earth
  4. shower — to wash
  5. present — the time now
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. shower — rain
  9. ground — a position
  10. rock — a stone
  11. stem — to come from
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rock — music
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. race — humankind
  21. present — a gift
  22. race — the arms race
  23. content — happy
  24. present — there

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