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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: vault · cold · lash · wave · row · ball · bore · root

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. ball — a great time
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. row — a line
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. root — the cause
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. ball — a dance
  15. root — of a plant
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. root — of a word
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bore — to tire
  24. vault — a safe

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