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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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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: present · mate · patient · swing · bound · ruler · pitch · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — certain
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. present — a gift
  8. cold — not warm
  9. swing — music
  10. mate — to breed
  11. present — the time now
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. present — there
  17. mate — a partner
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. swing — to play on
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bound — tied together

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