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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: net · kick · branch · capital · bark · rush · chip · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. net — in sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — money
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rush — hurry
  20. capital — a city
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. capital — a big letter

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