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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: pitcher · wax · swing · capital · chest · game · dip · date

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. dip — to sink
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. swing — music
  14. game — a match
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. swing — to play on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — money
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wax — in the ear

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