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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: clip · club · scale · current · prune · lie · straw · game

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. scale — in music
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. scale — size or range
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. current — happening now
  10. club — for dancing
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — wild animals
  14. clip — a video
  15. current — electric
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. club — a group
  19. game — a match
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. current — of water
  24. game — a kind of play

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