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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · bark · tear · key · prune · march · saw · fan

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — to shout
  3. saw — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. prune — to trim
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. march — the month
  11. key — the most important part
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. march — music
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. key — for a lock
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. drill — a practice
  24. key — in music

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