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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: season · bay · content · foot · cold · spell

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. spell — letters
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. spell — magic
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cold — an illness
  11. foot — a measure
  12. season — of the year
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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