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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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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: ruler · cue · wound · arm · club · key · straw · clip

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. key — for a lock
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cue — a hint
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cue — for pool
  11. key — the most important part
  12. club — for dancing
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. club — for golf
  20. clip — to cut
  21. key — in music
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cue — a signal
  24. wound — an injury

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