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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: deal · nail · fork · arm · leaves · tube · cold · file

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. tube — the underground
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. file — a tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cold — not warm
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. tube — a container
  24. nail — for a hammer

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