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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: wax · pound · safe · key · cold · bore · row · march

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bore — to drill
  8. row — a line
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — an illness
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. march — the month
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. key — in music
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cold — not warm
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. key — for a lock
  24. wax — to grow

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