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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
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: bark · toast · hand · wind · mine · plane · fine · sharp

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. plane — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. hand — help
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bark — to shout
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wind — moving air
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — bread
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mine — for digging
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — an explosive

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