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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spell — a short time
  5. band — a ring
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spell — magic
  8. press — newspapers
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. spell — letters
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. cell — in biology
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. hand — in cards
  19. press — to push
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. hand — help
  24. band — a music group

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