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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: temple · land · fall · wax · tear · season · spell · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. land — ground
  6. spell — magic
  7. land — a country
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spell — letters
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fall — the season
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. last — finally
  17. season — in sport
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. land — to come down
  21. fall — to drop
  22. season — of the year
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. tear — to rip

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