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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: straw · clip · cue · fork · club · stand · bound · key

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. key — for a lock
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. club — for golf
  7. key — in music
  8. cue — for pool
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. club — a group
  12. key — the most important part
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — to bear
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bound — certain
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cue — a hint
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bound — tied together

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