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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: march · deal · pitch · plane · capital · bear

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — to handle
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. capital — a city
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. capital — money
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. plane — a tool
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music

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