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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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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: mark · file · ball · club · bore · sharp · lean · deal

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. lean — thin
  3. club — for golf
  4. sharp — clever
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. file — a tool
  10. bore — to tire
  11. club — a group
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mark — a grade
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mark — a trace
  21. ball — a great time
  22. lean — to bend
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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