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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 120 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: leaves · rash · last · cap · saw · bark · snap · kid

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cap — a lid
  7. kid — child
  8. snap — to click
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bark — to shout
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. kid — to tease
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. last — to go on
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cap — of ice
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. leaves — of a tree

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