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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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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: bowl · root · bay · spell · ground · cold · hand · wound

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. spell — letters
  11. cold — not warm
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wound — an injury
  15. ground — crushed
  16. root — the cause
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spell — magic
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. root — of a word
  24. bowl — a dish

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