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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 120 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: pound · content · wind · trunk · fork · cold · bowl · cell

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. content — the amount
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — moving air
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. content — happy
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pound — a weight
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wind — moving air

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