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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cue — a hint
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bark — to shout
  8. chip — for betting
  9. clip — for paper
  10. court — of a king
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. court — for sport
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cue — for pool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. clip — a video
  24. wind — moving air

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