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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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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: court · wax · cap · ground · hide · bat · file · bay

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. file — a tool
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — of law
  13. ground — a position
  14. wax — to grow
  15. court — of a king
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — the earth
  20. court — for sport
  21. file — a document
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bat — the animal

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