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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 116 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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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: spring · chip · drill · wind · rock · land · board · bowl

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. rock — music
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wind — moving air
  6. board — to get on
  7. spring — of water
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — the season
  12. chip — for betting
  13. land — to come down
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. land — ground
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. chip — to eat
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — a practice
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. land — a country

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