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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: branch · fork · prune · net · drill · last · tear · nail

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. branch — a division
  3. last — to go on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — army training
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. net — after costs
  19. drill — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. prune — to trim

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