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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: pound · track · row · degree · coach · scale · fall · file

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a line of people
  5. scale — in music
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. fall — to drop
  10. row — to paddle
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — an amount
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pound — a weight
  16. file — a document
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. track — a song
  19. scale — size or range
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a tool
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fall — the season

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