One Word… Two Meanings
One word… Two Meanings
As a student in college or school in general there are many things that one has to learn first before one can comprehend the subject. One of the main assignments for any student would be to learn the definition of a word that they don’t comprehend. To me it’s a natural thing when it comes to learning a new word and what really helps me in college is Dicionary.com on my phone rather than having to pull out an actual dictionary to look for it. It is amazing how technology has advanced and helped many students in college.
Phones now in days have applications which you can install in your phone for a faster use rather than having to get on the internet on your phone and having to wait for loading times etc… with technology so advanced now in days Android, iPhones, and many other phones that are capable of downloading such applications for ones benefit. Lucky me I have one of these magnificent devices.
On my phone I have an application that is called dictionary.com and in that application there is usually a word that they give you to learn each and every day. The word of the day as they call it. On one of my daily routines while at work I came across a word that had me puzzled and wasn’t sure what it meant until I looked up in dictionary.com. In it the definition of the word came out to be one word that has a two different meanings. Then I started to think of words that had a double meaning to me but I could not come across any. It bugged me all day.
After that day I then went online and did a quick search for Homographs as what the word is described as. I found plenty of words that had double meanings and then that’s when I understood the actual definition of Homograph. I also started to realize that in my second native tongue Spanish, which I can think of many Homographs I could incorporate to English. An example could be aguas, which means waters in English, but if I were to use it in Spanish it means watch out or be careful. So in a way it is interesting how one word can have two meanings at once even if its in English, Spanish, French etc.… So one word doesn’t have to actually mean one thing in one language because it can mean something else in the other language. So ever since that day I have been searching for words with two different meanings to try and expand my vocabulary and knowledge. Daily I still look at the word of the day in my phone application to try and learn new words even though they might not have two different meanings because who knows later on I might see it. When I do I will know what the meaning of it is.
Who would have ever thought of it like that either way? One word two different meanings. It never hit me until this word was presented to me.
With that in mind I tried to apply it to architecture since it’s my passion but did not come out to many a very good examples. I did however come across an interpretation of what one can tell us from just a simple building. The architect could have tried to convey a message when designing the building but others saw the message as something else than its usual meaning. One good example could also be one building two different purposes for its use. A Stadium can be used for football or just simply concerts. It is like they say with pictures. One picture is worth a thousand words. Different people have different thoughts on it so it can be interpreted differently. This however does change a bit to the subject matter of a homograph. So how many homographs can you think of out of your head right now that this just got presented to you?
Works Cited
“Homograph.” Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homograph>.
“Aguas.” Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2011. <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=aguas>.
Homonyms, or multiple-meaning words, are words that have the same spelling and usually sound alike, but have different meanings (e.g. dog bark, tree bark).
Simply so Why is tear and tear spelled the same? Heteronyms are a type of homograph, which is a word that is spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning. … Related words are tears, teared, tearing, The word tear is derived from the Old English word, tear. Advertisement. To tear (tare) means to rend something into pieces, to rip apart, to make a hole.
What words have 3 meanings? 10 English Words with More than One Meaning
- Mine.
- Interest.
- Date.
- Engage.
- Leave.
- Novel.
- Park.
- Play.
also What words have the most meanings? According to Guinness World Records, the word that has the most meanings in the English language is the verb “set.” “Set” has 430 senses listed in the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, which was published in 1989.
What words are spelled the same but sound different?
Homophones are a type of homonym that also sound alike and have different meanings, but have different spellings. HOMOGRAPHS are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Heteronyms are a type of homograph that are also spelled the same and have different meanings, but sound different.
What does Tair mean? TAIR
| Acronym | Definition |
|---|---|
| TAIR | The Arabidopsis Information Resource |
| TAIR | Test Assembly Inspection Record (US NASA) |
| TAIR | Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading (est. 1947) |
| TAIR | Total Army Involvement in Recruiting |
How do we spell 10?
Spelling Numbers
| Cardinal number | Ordinal number | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | eight | eighth |
| 9 | nine | ninth |
| 10 | ten | tenth |
| 11 | eleven | eleventh |
What is Tearup? Definition of tear up
transitive verb. 1 : to damage, remove, or effect an opening in tore up the street to lay a new water main. 2 : to perform or compete with great success on, in, or against couples tearing up the dance floor a batter who’s tearing up the league.
What words have 4 meanings?
Homonyms are words that have the same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings.
…
There are many examples of homonyms.
- arm. I have an ant bite on my arm. …
- bark. I hope her dog doesn’t bark when I knock on the door. …
- clip. …
- crane. …
- date. …
- dough. …
- drop. …
- engaged.
What 3 letter word has the most meanings? So Far One three-letter word does much of the heavy lifting in the English language. The little word “run” — in its verb form alone — has 645 distinct meanings.
What is the most polysemous word?
form. The most polysemous word in the OED is set.
What word has the most E’s in it? Ethylenediaminetetraacetate has 7 e’s. It is a crystalline acid with formula C10H16N2O8 and is used as an antidote to metal poisoning, is an anticoagulant, and is used in the manufacture of certain industrial reagents.
What is the least used English word?
alsike (n., a clover native to Europe) chersonese (n., a peninsula) cacomistle (n., a carnivorous, raccoon-like animal) yogh (n., Middle English letter, used to represent the “y” sound)
What words are spelled backwards and forwards?
The most familiar palindromes in English are character-unit palindromes. The characters read the same backward as forward. Some examples of palindromic words are redivider, deified, civic, radar, level, rotor, kayak, reviver, racecar, madam, and refer.
What is an example of a Heteronym? For example, “row” (use oars) and “row” (argument) are heteronyms because they employ different sounds, while “mean” (signify) and “mean” (average) are not heteronyms because they are pronounced the same (these are called homonyms). Most heteronyms come in pairs.
What is a RAIT? rait. RAIT (Redundant Arrays of Independent Tape) are the tape drive equivalent of RAID (Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks) for disk drives. RAIT is sometimes called “tape RAID”.
How do you write No 1 or No 1?
How do I spell 1000? If you have saved 1000 dollars, then you can write, “I have just saved One Thousand dollars.” One Thousand is the cardinal number word of 1000 which denotes a quantity.
…
Problem Statements:
| How to Write 1000 in Words? | One Thousand |
|---|---|
| Is 1000 an Odd Number? | No |
What is 0 called?
“Zero” is the usual name for the number 0 in English. In British English “nought” is also used. In American English “naught” is used occasionally for zero, but (as with British English) “naught” is more often used as an archaic word for nothing. … In certain contexts, zero and nothing are interchangeable, as is “null”.
What is teardown? 1a : to cause to decompose or disintegrate. b : vilify, denigrate trying to tear down his reputation. 2 : to take apart : disassemble tear down an engine. Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About teardown.
Is tear up cry?
to get tears in your eyes, so that you almost start to cry, because you are experiencing strong emotion: She teared up as the award was presented to her.
Is tearing crying? 2 tears plural : an act of crying I burst into tears. … 2 : to wound or injure by or as if by tearing : lacerate Use an ointment where you tore the skin.
В потоке английской речи мы точно распознаем только те слова, которые мы не только неоднократно слышали или читали, но и неоднократно произнесли сами вслух, так как голосовой аппарат – это орган памяти, как и рука музыканта.
Какой из этого мы сделаем вывод?
Правильно: слышим – понимаем — произносим – читаем – пишем — говорим.
Что можно исключить из этого ряда?
НИЧЕГО!
Сегодня мы продолжим знакомство с темой
«One word – two meanings»
http://at-english.ru/mp3files/hsay15.mp3
«One word – two meanings»
Listen!
He wrote her a note before he left.
He wrote her a note before he left.
She found the top note difficult to sing.
She found the top note difficult to sing.
После того как вы осознанно произнесете слово note в этих предложениях, вы легко узнаете его в любой звучащей речи.
Конечно, тренированный слух сразу услышит всем знакомое в нашем языке слово нота, как в слове attractive (привлекательный, притягательный, заманчивый) он сразу услышит слово аттракцион.
Слушайте, повторяйте — желаем вам успеха!
———————————————————-
И сегодня мы Вам рекомендуем:
Беспрецедентный Курс, у которого совершенно нет аналогов,
Обучающий Эффективному и Легкому
Пополнению Словарного и Фразового Запаса 
«Speak English Every Day»:
Слова Зубрить Не Надо!
— За три недели увлекательнейших занятий Вы пополните свой словарный запас не менее, чем на 287 слов;
— За три недели Вы воскресите свою память и обучите ее работать лучше и эффективнее;
— за три недели Вы настроите свое восприятие на Качественное и Быстрое запоминание новых слов, фраз и выражений
Вы ощутите Реальный Видимый Успех КАЖДЫЙ(!) ДЕНЬ
при помощи Увлекательной, Легкой Уникальной Программы, рассчитанной на три недели ежедневных интересных занятий с Пользой на Всю Оставшуюся Жизнь!
Для знакомства с подробным описанием программы проходите по этой ссылке:
http://at-english.ru/3week.htm
Читайте о Программе Подробнее и Резервируйте Свою Копию Программы!!!
Конечно, отсутствие языковой среды тормозит изучение языка:
Слова можно рано или поздно выучить. Но слова — это одно, а фразы совсем другое!
У всех, кто осваивает английский язык самостоятельно, возникают проблемы с восприятием речи на слух и выражением своих мыслей в потоке свободной речи.
Уверена, что многие из Вас испытывают подобные затруднения.
Для тренировки осмысленного произнесения слов и выражений и активизации памяти,
эффективного пополнения словарного и фразового запаса,
специально разработан курс
«Speak English Every Day!»:
Продолжаем тренировать Ловкость языка, Восприятие и распознавание звучащей речи, набираем Речевой Опыт.
«Speak English Every Day!» — Слова Зубрить Не Надо!
И БОНУС — озвученная книга Английских Скороговорок для улучшения произношения!
Интересная статья? Можно поделиться, кликнув на кнопку:
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Having just recently moved to the United States from Japan with her family Miyo has been working hard trying to understand the English language. Miyo’s parents encourage her to focus on reading and writing but she prefers to learn by listening to oral conversations.
One of her favorite places to learn is a construction site not far from her home. One week ago Miyo hears the foreman use a word and from how the construction workers respond she is confident that she understands its meaning.
Today Miyo hears the foreman use what sounds like the exact same word (this time he sounds slightly upset) and the construction workers proceed to do the opposite of what they did the week before.
Assume that Miyo has great hearing and the word she heard today really did sound the same as the word the heard the week before.
What can explain the construction workers responding in a seemingly opposite manner to an instruction that included a word that sounded the same as what she heard one week earlier?
Deusovi♦
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asked Jun 11, 2016 at 10:15
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Possibly
Miyo heard the word
raise one week — meaning to move something up
and the word
raze on the other week — meaning to level to the ground
JBentley
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answered Jun 11, 2016 at 10:48
TomTom
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The first day, the foreman said to:
stand fast. And the workers all stood around waiting.
The second day, the foreman said to:
do something fast. And the workers all started moving quickly.
What Miyo didn’t hear was that on the third day, the foreman said to:
fast. And the workers all stopped eating.
Which is good because it would probably only have confused her further.
answered Jun 11, 2016 at 18:27
KevinKevin
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Oh no don’t worry about its looks — just carry on building and it’ll all be fine.
Oh no… guys, remember last week when we were talking about how the structural steel looked like cheap plastic? Turns out it was cheap plastic…
JMP
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answered Jun 11, 2016 at 11:22
niemironiemiro
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There are several possibilities. Here’s a suggestion:
One week ago …
Foreman: … and we’re off. Bob, buckle up! Can we fix it? Yes we can!
Today …
Foreman: … now we’re in a fix, but it wasn’t our fault that the span buckled. And just like that, we’re off.
Here are the senses of the words used:
- Off: start (of work), dismissed
- Buckle: fasten, bent (buckled)
- Fix: repair, trouble.
answered Jun 11, 2016 at 10:52
LawrenceLawrence
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One of my favorite examples of a completely counterintuitive word is restive.
Definition according to a quick google search:
(of a person) unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to control, especially because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom.
Yet, with the qualifying definition:
(of a horse) refusing to advance, stubbornly standing still or moving backward or sideways.
The reason for this is because originally the term was applied to a rebellious horse. A miffed horse will refuse to move according to a handler’s command, staying at rest. Hence, «restive». However, by applying that disobedience to a different subject, such as a child, their disobedience manifests in being fidgety and over-active.
Part of why language can be so confusing. By preserving the spirituality of how a word is used, it gains wildly different implementations.
answered Jun 11, 2016 at 14:27
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Perhaps the word she heard is simply:
Opposite
Yesterday, she heard the foreman say that:
The equipment should be moved to the opposite side, and they moved it to the back.
Today, she heard the foreman say:
The equipment should be moved to the opposite side, and they moved it to the front (they did the opposite the opposite direction).
answered Jun 12, 2016 at 13:57
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Perhaps the foreman had the workers re-sign their contracts.
Or perhaps the foreman employed an American workforce one day and a British workforce the next. The Americans heard his command, waited a few seconds, and then began work. The next day, the Brits heard the same command, worked for a few seconds and then stopped for the rest of the day. The foreman’s sadness was because he knew this was coming but didn’t know how else to express himself…
To both teams the foreman said:
«We’ll commence work momentarily»
answered Jun 11, 2016 at 23:14
StrawberryStrawberry
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She might have heard
Joe, Scaffolding!
The first day would be putting it up (before doing something), the second taking it down (after something had been done). The worker would understand which from the context of the job they were doing.
It actually could be
any noun used as an order — for example, ‘Tools!’ at the beginning of a job to bring them out, at the end to pack them away. Or any order which assumes the worker will act on a context which changed between the two instants.
I picked the example because the ‘ing’ ending might have helped her to mistake it for a verb.
Another alternative might be
Break, which might mean to pick up a tool to break something, or take a break, which would be to put down the tool and walk away.
It’s perhaps a more reasonable answer, but less amusing.
answered Jun 11, 2016 at 20:52
MeghaMegha
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Literally doesn’t literally mean «literally!»
In fact the word means two things:
- Really, actually, etc. («Don’t worry, we are literally 10 minutes late»)
- Figuratively («Hurry up! We are literally 900 million years late!»)
answered Jun 12, 2016 at 0:43
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Day 1 — The door lock is tight and does not open.
Day 2 — The door lock is tight. Its the shit….
Miyo: Wait, its the shit?…But I thought you liked it. We just loosened it and it finally works.
answered Jun 12, 2016 at 2:55
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Being an Indian, we are more inclined to British English than American. Often when visiting one of the non-European western countries, I had often been in situation that was either amusing or embarrassing.
Incident 1:
The company I used to work for supported geographical diversity at work-space, and during lunch breaks, we used to eat together. I would often bring my lunch and was eager to share it with other fellow American colleagues referring to it as homely food. I never understood, why my utterance of homely made everyone bemused until I realized, what we mean from our home was rather perceived as unattractive. I bless my stars as how often I wanted to complement someone as homely but nevertheless that never happened. I wonder how things would have turned up then.
Incident 2:
Every week, we used to send a pager report, which had a short snippet of the causal-analysis along with any cross team interaction details. In one of the reports, I remember mentioning that so-and-so had intimated me based on which I had taken some action.
Within minutes of sending it, I received a call from higher up who wanted me to explain how the person from his team intimidated me. That definitely could have been perceived as a workplace harassment, if not a false allegation to the least. I had to explain how the two words are so different. Later I realized, most Americans have never ever intimated anyone in their life, rather they prefer to inform. I was saved the second time again.
answered Jun 14, 2016 at 3:40
AbhijitAbhijit
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Some English words mean one thing and its opposite. Sometimes this occurs because a group of people use the word incorrectly, i.e. «nonplussed.» Until sometime in the 80s or 90s, nonplussed meant confused or perplexed. Whereas, now «informally» throughout North America, it means unconcerned or unperturbed.
Another word that can mean its opposite is «sanction,» whether used as a verb or a noun. Here are examples using the verb: «His parents cannot sanction him marrying a man.» versus, «The government will sanction any nation giving sanctuary to terrorists.»
I doubt, however, construction workers admit to feeling nonplussed using either meaning. Likewise, sanction.
answered Jun 11, 2016 at 18:31
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Many English words have multiple meanings. This means that the same word, with the same spelling and pronunciation may have more than one meaning. Sometimes the meanings may be very different. This can be confusing for people learning English. You may wonder,” How do I know what the meaning is?” The best way is rely on context, illustrations, or diagrams in the text. However, if you still are not sure of the meaning, look it up. A dictionary will tell you all the meanings of any word. This posting cannot discuss every word with multiple meanings. There are simply too many of them. In this posting, however, I talk about 25 common words with multiple meanings. These are word you may see and hear in your daily life. I show you parts of speech, definitions, and example sentences for each meaning of each word.The download at the end will give you additional practice understanding words with multiple meanings.
Here is the free English video lesson I taught on YouTube:
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see all of our lessons and get the latest videos right away!
You can download the practice sheet NOW!
Below is a list of common words with multiple meanings.
B
- bank
2. bark
3. bill
4. break
5. bug
C
6. charge
7. company
8. current
D-H
9. date
10. fair
11. fast
12. fly
13. hit
J-N
14. jam
15. left
16. mine
17. nail
P-R
18. patient
19. pool
20. pupil
21. run
S-T
22. season
23. set
24. take
25. turn
You now know many common English words with multiple meanings. Often you can guess the meaning of the word through context. If that is not helpful, however, don’t hesitate to look the word up. The download will give you additional practice understanding words with multiple meanings.
You can download the practice sheet NOW!
Idioms of the day
- no picnic–This means something is difficult and not pleasant. I’m glad I moved, but making all the preparations was no picnic.
- turn a blind eye to–This means to not notice a very obvious problem. Her husband comes home drunk every night, but she turns a blind eye to his problems. She insists that he’s not an alcoholic.
