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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: chip · pitcher · land · patient · fan · wave · swing · fall

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — ground
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. swing — music
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. swing — in golf
  15. land — to come down
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — a country
  21. fall — to drop
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fall — to drop

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