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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wave · court · bat · pitcher · chip · saw · clip · patient

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. clip — for paper
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. court — of a king
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bat — the animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. patient — a sick person

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