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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. court — of law
  3. march — the month
  4. court — for sport
  5. file — a tool
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. mate — a partner
  8. land — ground
  9. fine — all right
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. land — to come down
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a document
  15. court — of a king
  16. file — a line of people
  17. march — music
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. mate — to breed
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cap — of ice
  23. land — a country
  24. toast — the most admired

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