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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: wake · stem · nail · cap · pit · tear · plane · pass

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pit — a hole
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cap — of ice
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pit — in a race
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wake — a trail
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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