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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: plane · cap · tear · pass · file · land · degree · wax

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. file — a tool
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. file — a line of people
  9. land — to come down
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. file — a document
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — ground
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cap — of ice
  24. land — a country

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