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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 · bear · mate

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — boats
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. degree — from a university
  7. craft — a skill
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mate — a partner
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bear — the animal
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. file — a document
  24. mate — to breed

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