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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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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: clip · can · wind · snap · pound · perch · hide · trunk

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. can — a tin
  3. perch — the fish
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wind — moving air
  13. can — to be able to
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. can — a tin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. clip — a video
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pound — a weight
  24. trunk — of a tree

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