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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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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: field · lie · wake · lean · charge · file · pop · hand

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pop — music
  3. field — for sport
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. file — a document
  8. field — a subject
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pop — soda
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — farmland
  14. wake — a trail
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pop — to visit
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. charge — a price
  21. file — a tool
  22. charge — in control
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. charge — electricity

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