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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 116 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: court · safe · perch · bat · net · field · firm · straw

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — after costs
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — of a king
  6. net — in sport
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. perch — the fish
  9. court — of law
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. firm — decided
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. court — for sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. firm — steady
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — the animal
  24. safe — out of danger

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