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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: march · bay · cue · drill · track · bore · cold · degree

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cold — not warm
  4. track — a path
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. drill — army training
  7. march — music
  8. bore — to tire
  9. degree — temperature
  10. track — a song
  11. cue — for pool
  12. track — to keep track
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cue — a signal
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — an illness

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