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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: trunk · arm · pop · pass · pound · wound · bark · snap

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. snap — to click
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pop — soda
  11. pass — a permit
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pop — music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pound — for dogs

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