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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.

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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: clip · swing · mine · bat · can · capital · dip · bank

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. swing — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. capital — a city
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bank — for money
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. capital — money
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bank — for money
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bank — of a river
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bat — in an idiom

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