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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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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: content · kick · saw · snap · bark · chip · capital · track

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. kick — in football
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. chip — for betting
  6. snap — to click
  7. track — a path
  8. capital — a city
  9. content — happy
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bark — to shout
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. content — the amount
  23. capital — money
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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