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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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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: degree · pound · cell · jam · file · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. file — a tool
  5. degree — from a university
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. file — a document
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cell — a phone
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. craft — a skill

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