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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 120 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: field · file · capital · rule · pass · wax · tube · degree

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. capital — a city
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. field — a subject
  9. wax — to grow
  10. file — a document
  11. rule — a law
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. field — farmland
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. tube — a container
  22. degree — temperature
  23. file — a tool
  24. rule — government

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