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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 116 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lean — thin
  6. wax — to grow
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. cold — not warm
  10. last — final
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. hand — help
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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