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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 116 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: bowl · cold · mine · bear · game · hide · deal · branch

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — to handle
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mine — for digging
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. game — a match

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