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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: lie · wake · rock · cold · deal · spring · can · field

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rock — a stone
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. can — a tin
  9. field — for sport
  10. spring — of water
  11. rock — music
  12. can — to be able to
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spring — the season
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. field — a subject
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. deal — to handle
  23. field — farmland
  24. cold — not warm

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