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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · rush · hand · drill · perch · mine · plane · squash

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. hand — in cards
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. plane — a tool
  16. field — a subject
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. field — for sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. squash — to crush
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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