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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: mate · cue · present · mine · jam · degree · cap · pound

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pound — a weight
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — an amount
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mate — a partner
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. degree — from a university
  17. present — a gift
  18. mate — to breed
  19. present — the time now
  20. mine — for digging
  21. present — there
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cap — a hat

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