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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: bank · cold · kick · scale · root · spell · trunk · file

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. root — the cause
  3. file — a document
  4. scale — in music
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spell — letters
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bank — for money
  12. spell — magic
  13. bank — of a river
  14. kick — in football
  15. root — of a word
  16. file — a tool
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cold — an illness
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. root — of a plant
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cold — not warm

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