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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. hand — in cards
  5. land — a country
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. drill — a practice
  9. land — to come down
  10. drill — army training
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pit — a hole
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hand — help
  23. land — ground
  24. plane — an aircraft

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