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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: spell · row · file · wind · roll · track · pound · saw

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. row — a line
  3. spell — magic
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. track — a path
  8. pound — a weight
  9. row — to paddle
  10. roll — a cake
  11. file — a document
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. file — a tool
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. track — a song
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. file — a line of people
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  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