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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: fan · file · wind · deal · ground · sharp · mark · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. ground — a position
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. file — a document
  14. ground — crushed
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a tool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — a group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — the earth

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