Another word for two meanings

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Learning English can be fun. It can be daunting. It can be empowering. It can also be confusing, on occasion. But one thing it definitely isn’t is boring. Even the most fluent English speakers are often surprised when they discover something new about the language: a grammar rule brought to their attention for the first time, a word that they’d never come across before or, even more surprisingly, a familiar word used in an unexpected way! Yes, it is quite common for one English word to have two (or more) completely different meanings.

The way to tell these same-spelling, different-meaning words apart is to pay attention to the context in which they are being used. This will make much more sense when we see these words in action, so let’s look at some examples.

Here is a word that has more than one meaning:

Mine

• as a noun: a place underground from where minerals are extracted
  Peter has been working at a coal mine since April.
• as a possessive pronoun: to show possession
  This is your bag, not mine.

Isn’t that interesting? The same word—mine—is used in both example sentences, but it means two entirely different things in each.

Here is a list of ten other English words with more than one meaning:

1. Interest

• as a noun: wanting to learn or know more about something
  She developed an interest in programming after taking a course in college and now she is a
  professional programmer.
• as a noun: additional money charged on a borrowed sum
  I am paying a high rate of interest on my home loan.
• as a verb: to arouse curiosity or attention
  We built interest in our product by outlining its many benefits on our social media channels.

2. Date

• as a noun: the day of the month or year
  We still haven’t set a date for the ceremony.
• as a verb: to show the age of something
  This food at this restaurant is delicious but the old-fashioned décor really dates it.

3. Engage

• as a verb: to be involved in some work or an activity
  The students hope to engage in a lively discussion with the visiting professor.
• as an adjective: to have formally agreed to marry someone
  The engaged couple shared the good news with their friends and family.

4. Leave

• as a verb: to go away from somewhere
  Ali leaves for Delhi soon.
• as a verb: to remain
  The ink will leave a stain on my shirt.
• as a verb: to deposit or deliver
  The delivery person leaves Sharmila’s parcels with her neighbor.
• as a noun: to be absent from work or duty
  Gunjan is at home on leave today. She will not be attending the meeting.

5. Novel

• as a noun: a prose, fictionalized narrative in the form of a book that often tells a complex
  story with characters and action
  My mother’s novel about three generations of women from a small town has won the National Book Award this year.
• as an adjective: something that is unique and interesting
  I discovered a novel way to spend less money and save more

6. Park

• as a noun: a public garden or area for recreation
  I am taking my children to play in the park today.
• as a verb: to bring a car or vehicle to a stop for a period of time
  We are leaving for the concert now so that we get a good spot to park the car.

7. Play

• as a verb: to engage in an activity or sport
  We are going to play football today.
  My band is playing at the City Club on Saturday. Why don’t you come check us out?
• as a verb: to act in a dramatic production
  I am playing the role of a politician in my next film.
• as a noun: a theatrical production
  Hamlet is my favorite play of all time.

8. Right

• as an adjective: morally fair, good or proper
  The right thing to do now would be to apologize for your mistake.
• as a noun: morally right or just.
  He doesn’t seem to understand the difference between right and wrong.
• as a noun: something one has legal or moral claim to
  As a citizen of this country I have voting rights.
• as a noun: the direction or location of something
  If you look to your right, you will see the Museum of Natural History.

9. Run

• as a verb: to move faster than while walking
  Don’t run down the street, that’s dangerous!
• as a verb: to go somewhere in urgency or distress (not literally “running”, necessarily)
  Even as an adult, I run to my mother with all my problems.
• as a verb: to contend in a race of some kind
  I intend to run for President four years from now.
• as a noun: a continuous spell of a something
  Souvik has a had a run of bad luck this year.

10. Type

• as a noun: a category of things or people that share something in common
  They sell all types of fabric in that store.
• as a verb: to write something on a keypad by pressing keys
  Wow! You type very fast!

Now that’s a lot of different meanings for only a few words, isn’t it? And if you’ll believe it – many of these words can be used in even more ways than the ones listed here. But don’t be overwhelmed, a good online or print dictionary will help you find all the meanings of any English word you might encounter. And the more you read and speak in English, the stronger your vocabulary will become.

Here’s another great idea – to really power up your vocabulary try a Burlington English course! We have expert teachers on hand to guide you with our spoken English training courses that will take your language learning journey to the next level.

Every language has words that look and sound the same but mean different things. Russian is no exception: many Russian words have two or even more different meanings.

Click to enlarge the image. Drawing by Niyaz Karim

The most frequently cited examples of homonyms in the
Russian language are the words kosa (коса) and klyuch (ключ)

The word kosa means a braid and also, in another
meaning, a scythe. Hence the comic play on words in the expression devushka
s kosoi (девушка с косой), which can mean both a young woman with braided
hair and the Grim Reaper. In addition, kosa also means a spit of land
sticking out into the sea.

Klyuch means a key that you
use to open and close the door but also a key to a cipher (klyuch ot shifra,
ключ от шифра), a clue, and a clef (e.g. a skripichny klyuch (скрипичный
ключ) is a treble clef). It also forms part of the Russian word for a spanner, gayechny klyuch (гаечный
ключ).

The adjective klyuchevoi (ключевой) is used in the same sense as
the English ‘key’ in key element, key player, key moment, etc. In a separate
meaning, a klyuch is also a spring, a source of clean, fresh, cool
water.

The word mat (мат) has three completely different
meanings. First, it is the chess term checkmate. Second, a mat, especially a
gym mat (gimnastichesky mat, гимнастический мат). Third, and most commonly
these days, it is foul language, swear words.

Under a new Russian law that came into effect on July 1, the
use of foul language is banned on television, in films, books, in the media, as
well as in the theater and other public performances. The boundaries of what
constitutes foul language are quite blurred (some words are considered more
acceptable than others).

The debate of what should fall under «the
banned» foul language has been going on for a long time. At present,
experts have concluded that the ban should cover four basic roots (rude names
for male and female genitals, sexual intercourse and a prostitute) and all of
their derivatives.

The word klass (класс) in Russian has approximately
the same wealth of meanings as «class» in English. In a school or
university, it means a classroom and a group of students who study together, as
well as the entire cohort of students in a particular grade.

In another sense,
it means a level of quality, as in first-class, second-class, third-class. In
yet another meaning, a class is a division of people in society according to
their social status, e.g. working class, middle class.

The word post (пост) has until recently been used in
two senses: the place where a soldier, guard or other person has been told to
remain (as in guard post, storozhevoi post (сторожевой пост), which
later evolved into meaning a position in a company or organization, usually one
that involves responsibility.

The other meaning of the word is religious: a
fast (the derivative verb is postitsya (поститься). In recent years, the
word post has developed a new meaning that is to do with the advent of
blogs and social network sites. It has even created a new verb, zapostit
(запостить), meaning to post something on the internet.

Another word that has acquired an additional meaning as a
result of borrowing from English is luk (лук). Traditionally, luk
had two distinct meanings in Russian: an onion and a bow (as in a bow and arrows).
Recently, in youth slang it has begun to be used in the sense of a person’s
looks.

The word val (вал) has even more meanings. It can
mean an earthen wall, hence the names of some old streets in Moscow, e.g. Zemlyanoi
Val (Земляной вал) or Koroviy Val (Коровий вал). At sea, a val is a big
wave (e.g. a famous painting by great Russian seascape artist Ivan Aivazovsky
is called Devyatiy Val (“Девятый вал»).

It also means a shaft, as
in a drive shaft. Finally, in economics, it means the gross output of a
company, an industry or a country as whole. 

Read more: The 10 most well-known Russian words>>>

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