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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: wake · field · chest · cue · board · swing · bat · toast

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cue — a hint
  4. swing — music
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. toast — bread
  10. chest — of your body
  11. board — a committee
  12. field — farmland
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. field — a subject
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chest — a box
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. cue — a signal
  24. toast — the most admired

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