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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · mate · clip · band · suit · pitch · capital

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. band — a ring
  3. march — the month
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. march — music
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. plane — a tool
  11. suit — clothes
  12. clip — for paper
  13. suit — in cards
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — to breed
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. mate — a friend
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. clip — to cut
  24. suit — to fit

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