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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: club · staff · straw · present · key · current · trunk · clip

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — a video
  3. club — for dancing
  4. present — a gift
  5. current — happening now
  6. staff — employees
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. key — in music
  10. current — electric
  11. current — of water
  12. key — the most important part
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. key — for a lock
  15. clip — for paper
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. club — for golf
  18. staff — employees
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. clip — to cut
  21. staff — a stick
  22. club — a group
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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