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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.

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: cold · bound · pitcher · patient · court · safe · mate · band

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. band — a ring
  6. court — of law
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. cold — not warm
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bound — tied together
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bound — certain
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bound — obliged
  21. court — of a king
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — for sport
  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