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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.

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: ball · game · root · race · mouse · march · stock · rule

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rule — a law
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. march — the month
  7. ball — a dance
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. ball — a great time
  11. race — the arms race
  12. game — a match
  13. root — of a word
  14. game — wild animals
  15. march — music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. race — humankind
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. root — the cause
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mouse — for a computer

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