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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: track · chest · leaves · nail · rush · perch · band · bark

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chest — a box
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. band — a music group
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. track — a path
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a ring
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. track — a song

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