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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: fine · bark · snap · leaves · cabinet · content · toast · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bark — to shout
  3. toast — bread
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. snap — to click
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fine — all right
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. last — to go on
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. fine — high quality
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — finally
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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