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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: capital · bat · rule · chip · pound · saw

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. capital — a city
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. chip — for betting
  7. rule — government
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pound — a weight
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rule — a law
  18. capital — money

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