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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: nail · pitch · trunk · last · net · march · saw · board

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. board — a committee
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. march — music
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. march — the month
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. last — final
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. last — to go on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. last — finally
  21. saw — the tool
  22. net — after costs
  23. pitch — completely
  24. nail — for a hammer

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