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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: row · spell · cabinet · clip · craft · field · land · temple

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. land — a country
  4. craft — boats
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. clip — to cut
  8. field — a subject
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — farmland
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. land — ground
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spell — letters
  21. land — to come down
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. craft — a skill

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