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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 120 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 · tear · land · temple · spell · lean

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — ground
  3. tear — to rip
  4. land — a country
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — a subject
  7. spell — magic
  8. land — to come down
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. field — farmland
  12. spell — a short time
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. lean — thin
  16. field — for sport
  17. lean — to bend
  18. spell — letters

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