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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: straw · wave · dip · coach · rock · fall · patient · pitcher

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rock — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fall — the season
  24. dip — to sink

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