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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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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: field · bat · wake · last · vault · prune · coach · board

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. board — to get on
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. wake — a trail
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — to go on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bat — the animal
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. board — a committee
  19. vault — a safe
  20. prune — to trim
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. board — a flat piece

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