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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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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 · cap · march

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pound — a weight
  4. plane — a tool
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mate — a friend
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mate — a partner
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — money
  19. cap — a hat
  20. capital — a city
  21. march — music
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cap — of ice
  24. degree — temperature

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