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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 116 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: bay · drill · cold · scale · march · key · track · lash

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. track — a song
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. drill — a practice
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. scale — in music
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. drill — army training
  15. key — the most important part
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. track — a path
  18. scale — size or range
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. track — to keep track

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