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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: drill · tear · hide · mate · season · march · branch · prune

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. season — of the year
  3. tear — from crying
  4. branch — a division
  5. mate — to breed
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. march — the month
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. march — music
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mate — a friend
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — to rip
  18. prune — to trim
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. march — the month
  21. drill — army training
  22. season — in sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hide — to keep secret

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