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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: snap · calf · trunk · perch · wound · cap · file · pound

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. snap — to click
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. perch — the fish
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. file — a document
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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