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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 116 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: spell · trunk · dip · snap · hide · capital · chip · bark

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — magic
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. spell — a short time
  11. capital — money
  12. snap — to click
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. spell — letters
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. capital — a city
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chip — for betting

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