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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: content · branch · last · drill · prune · march · bound · date

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. date — the fruit
  6. march — the month
  7. last — finally
  8. march — the month
  9. content — happy
  10. bound — certain
  11. last — to go on
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. last — final
  15. content — the amount
  16. drill — a practice
  17. prune — to trim
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. march — music
  21. branch — a division
  22. bound — obliged
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bound — tied together

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