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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: temple · rule · field · race · toast · hand · snap · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. race — humankind
  3. rule — a law
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. toast — bread
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. hand — help
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. race — the arms race
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. spell — a short time
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rule — government
  21. spell — letters
  22. snap — to click
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. temple — a place of worship

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