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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: wind · deal · ground · hide · spring · mate · last · wound

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ground — crushed
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. ground — the earth
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spring — the season
  16. last — final
  17. deal — to handle
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ground — a position
  20. mate — a partner
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — of water
  23. last — to go on
  24. wound — an injury

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