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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: plane · patient · sharp · land · wind · toast

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. land — ground
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. land — to come down
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wind — moving air
  13. toast — bread
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. land — a country
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool

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