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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: craft · cell · lash · face · last · key · tear · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. craft — a skill
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cell — a phone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. face — to confront
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. craft — boats
  13. key — in music
  14. last — final
  15. key — for a lock
  16. last — to go on
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cell — in biology
  19. last — finally
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. tear — to rip
  23. lean — thin
  24. tear — from crying

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