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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: ground · track · file · court · lean · can · hide · wax

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lean — thin
  4. court — of law
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. lean — to bend
  7. track — a path
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. ground — a position
  10. file — a document
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — of a king
  18. file — a line of people
  19. can — to be able to
  20. track — a song
  21. file — a tool
  22. court — for sport
  23. ground — the earth
  24. hide — animal skin

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