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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: charge · bulb · kid · key · snap · stem · present · field

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. present — a gift
  3. key — for a lock
  4. field — farmland
  5. key — the most important part
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. present — the time now
  8. field — a subject
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. bulb — for light
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. present — there
  16. charge — electricity
  17. key — in music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — child
  20. charge — in control
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. field — for sport

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