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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: bound · prune · drill · march · fan · branch · bark · face

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. branch — a division
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — the tool
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. march — music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bark — to shout
  13. prune — to trim
  14. drill — a practice
  15. march — the month
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bound — certain
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. drill — army training
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bound — tied together
  23. face — part of the head
  24. prune — the fruit

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