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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: lean · swing · mug · can · capital · cold · mine · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a face
  4. capital — money
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. dip — to sink
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. can — a tin
  12. swing — in golf
  13. can — a tin
  14. mug — a cup
  15. lean — thin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lean — to bend
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — music

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