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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 · wax · dip · race · hand · content · swing · can

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. content — happy
  4. swing — in golf
  5. can — a tin
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — a video
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — to cut
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. can — to be able to
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — for paper
  21. swing — music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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