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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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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: ball · prune · content · face · wax · dip · hand · swing

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. prune — to trim
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. face — part of the head
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. face — to confront
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. face — to point toward
  15. content — the amount
  16. swing — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — happy
  19. swing — to play on
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ball — a great time
  24. dip — to sink

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