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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: trunk · cue · charge · straw · swing · clip · snap · rule

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — government
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. swing — music
  7. cue — for pool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. charge — a price
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. charge — electricity
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. clip — to cut
  21. charge — in control
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — a video
  24. rule — a law

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