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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · squash · straw · net · degree · chip · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. field — for sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chip — to eat
  5. squash — the sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chip — for betting
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — from a university
  14. net — in sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. firm — decided
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. field — a subject
  21. firm — a company
  22. net — for catching
  23. bat — the animal
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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