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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: net · charge · clip · kid · pass · row · stem · key

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. key — for a lock
  3. row — a line
  4. stem — to come from
  5. charge — a price
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pass — a permit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. net — after costs
  16. clip — a video
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. charge — in control
  19. net — for catching
  20. charge — electricity
  21. key — the most important part
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. key — in music
  24. kid — child

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