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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 · hand · season · nail · march · bark · drill · branch

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. drill — a practice
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. season — in sport
  11. march — the month
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. season — of the year
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — help
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. drill — the tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — to shout
  23. drill — army training
  24. nail — on a finger

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