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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: cue · club · clip · rule · straw · lie · leaves · court

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. clip — a video
  4. cue — a signal
  5. rule — a law
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. club — for dancing
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — for golf
  10. court — of law
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. rule — government
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cue — for pool
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cue — a hint
  19. lie — to recline
  20. court — for sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. court — of a king

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