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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: staff · track · spell · cold · drill · race · calf · ground

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. track — to keep track
  6. staff — employees
  7. drill — army training
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. staff — a stick
  11. spell — magic
  12. track — a path
  13. ground — a position
  14. staff — employees
  15. ground — the earth
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cold — not warm
  19. spell — a short time
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. track — a song
  23. race — the arms race
  24. spell — letters

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