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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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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: fall · saw · wind · content · bay · chip · clip · patient

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — happy
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. content — the amount
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — the season
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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