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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · land · spell · fine · file · wind · ground · can

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — in sport
  8. land — ground
  9. can — to be able to
  10. spell — letters
  11. ground — a position
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. land — to come down
  16. file — a document
  17. can — a tin
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. season — of the year
  20. spell — magic
  21. fine — high quality
  22. can — a tin
  23. land — a country
  24. ground — the earth

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