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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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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: cold · swing · track · patient · lie · cap · stick · dip

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. track — a path
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. swing — to play on
  7. lie — to recline
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cap — a lid
  10. track — a song
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. swing — music
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cap — of ice
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. dip — to sink
  20. cold — not warm
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cold — an illness
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cap — a hat

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