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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: track · mark · bear · race · degree · cold · drill · mouse

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. track — to keep track
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mark — a grade
  12. track — a song
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. track — a path
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bear — the animal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mark — a trace
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bear — the animal

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