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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: chair · chip · bark · snap · net · march · hide · shower

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chip — to eat
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — the month
  10. bark — to shout
  11. net — in sport
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. march — music
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. shower — rain
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — for catching
  20. snap — to click
  21. chair — a leader
  22. march — the month
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. shower — to wash

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