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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: kid · bark · net · fall · snap · land · rush · chip

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — a country
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. snap — to click
  5. land — ground
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fall — the season
  8. kid — to tease
  9. net — in sport
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chip — to eat
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — child
  17. chip — for betting
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. land — to come down

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