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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: net · firm · pitch · stem · pit · bat · straw · toast

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — the animal
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. firm — a company
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. toast — bread
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — a hole
  20. net — in sport
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stem — to come from

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