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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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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: ball · land · pass · row · bark · club · last · bore

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. last — finally
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. ball — a dance
  5. land — a country
  6. last — to go on
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bore — to tire
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. club — a group
  19. last — final
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bore — to drill
  22. land — to come down
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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