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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 116 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: capital · degree · mate · pound · pitch · plane

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mate — to breed
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. capital — money
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. capital — a city
  15. plane — a tool
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pitch — completely
  18. degree — an amount

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