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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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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: cold · arm · spell · snap · race · temple · mark · face

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mark — a grade
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — a contest
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mark — a trace
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spell — a short time
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spell — letters
  17. face — to confront
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. snap — to click
  20. spell — magic
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. face — part of the head

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