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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: shower · pound · cap · bore · spell · march · face · press

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. face — part of the head
  3. press — a publisher
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. pound — a weight
  8. spell — a short time
  9. press — to push
  10. march — music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. face — to confront
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. spell — magic
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spell — letters
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — to wash

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