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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: lie · cell · field · hand · wake · lean · mug · spell

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mug — to rob
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lean — thin
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. hand — help
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mug — a face
  14. spell — letters
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spell — a short time
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mug — a cup
  23. spell — magic
  24. cell — in biology

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