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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 · tear · content · firm · pop · band · race · present

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. content — happy
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. race — the arms race
  5. present — there
  6. content — the amount
  7. race — a contest
  8. firm — a company
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pound — a weight
  18. present — a gift
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — decided
  21. pop — soda
  22. present — the time now
  23. content — videos and posts
  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