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.
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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.
Online Spell check, Grammar, and Thesaurus checking
- December 26, 2010
If you think that there are too many words in the English language, remember that our dictionaries could be bigger; our language has doubled up definitions on many of its words.
Heteronyms, homonyms, homophones and homographs all become a confusing jumble especially when one attempts to use one these double-edged words while avoiding misspellings and misconstrued usage. When things get this complicated, it’s time to break out those dusty old dead languages as well as the Greek suffixes and prefixes, which are invaluable for deciphering the roots of these words.
The difference between homographs and heteronyms lies in the root words and a combination of factors affecting, spelling, pronunciation and meaning. There are also a variety of words with two meanings that include various similarities that bridge the gap between these three distinct segments.
Homophones are words that are pronounced in the same way but differ in their meanings. Words with different meanings and different spellings that are pronounced the same are also known a heterographs. Examples of words that sound the same but mean different things include there, their and they’re.
The term heteronym applies to words with two different pronunciations and two different meanings. The Greek word literally means different name. Examples based on the same word and different meaning effect include object and object.
Homographs are words that have the same spelling but are pronounced differently and have different meanings. For example, Polish and polish, dove and dove, and so on. The term literally translates to mean words with the same written record or depiction. These words are known as heteronyms, a term that translates to mean two unique definitions.
The title of the popular grammar book and tongue-in-cheek joke about the panda 
that eats, shoots and leaves is a classic example of a homograph capable of functioning as verb and a noun with vastly different effects. In this case, the same word and different meaning of “shoots” changes the complexion of the sentence completely.
The comedic affects of double-entendres, puns and malapropisms have been known for centuries. In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, the playwriting legend coined the malapropism’s alternate synonym the “Dogberryism” with the snappy dialogue of Constable Dogberry, who declares in great triumph that he has captured two auspicious men during the night watch. During the same scene, the constable planted another timeless one-liner when he famously says “comparisons are odorous” instead of odious.
Here are a few examples of words with two meanings:
1. After taking a shot with his bow, the archer took a bow.
2. I had to console my mom after I sold her console.
3. No one could believe how much produce our garden could produce.
4. There’s no dessert in the desert for those who desert.
5. The family was hoping their live plants would live.
6. There’s simply no use for something you can’t use.
7. They were going to project the project at the local theater.
8. It’s not easy to resume work without a resume.
9. The band booked the studio to record their record.
10. Everyone knows it’s not lady-like to intimate with intimate apparel.
11. The salesman was standing so close it was impossible to close the door.
12. The rebel seized the opportunity to rebel.
13. The artist worked for hours to perfect the nearly perfect work.
14. The sport agent’s resigning affected the star’s resigning.
15. The incense incensed the customers.
Do you have any favorite linguistic snafus or words with two meanings? Please feel free to share them in comments.
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homonyms
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homophones
Related posts
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homely nervy pants pavement to |
Br E
down to underpants footpath, to scold |
Am E
ugly (of
bold, trousers
to make
road |
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Same word, additional meaning in one variety
|
Common |
Additional |
|
|
bathroom dumb good school to ship |
room mute
fine,
educational
(primary,
to |
room stupid
valid offers)
all
of any
transport or |
|
Common |
Additional |
|
|
leader smart surgery |
one who intelligent
a or |
an well-groomed am |
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Same word, difference in style, connotation, frequency of use
|
Br E |
Am E |
|
|
autumn clever fortnight quite |
common,
common,
common,
negative |
poetic
less
uncommon, positive |
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Same concept or item, different word
|
Am E |
Br E |
|
faucet muffler sophomore washcloth zero line can gas couch |
tap silencer second-year face nought queue tin petrol sofa |
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This word set can be confusing, even for word geeks. Let’s start with the basics. A homograph is a word that has the same spelling as another word but has a different sound and a different meaning:
lead (to go in front of)/lead (a metal)
wind (to follow a course that is not straight)/wind (a gust of air)
bass (low, deep sound)/bass (a type of fish)
A homophone is a word that has the same sound as another word but has a different meaning. Homophones may or may not have the same spelling. Here are some examples:
to/two/too
there/their/they’re
pray/prey
Not so bad, right? The ending –graph means drawn or written, so a homograph has the same spelling. The –phone ending means sound or voice, so a homophone has the same pronunciation. But here’s where it gets tricky. Depending on whom you talk to, homonym means either:
A word that is spelled like another but has a different sound and meaning (homograph); a word that sounds like another but has a different spelling and meaning (homophone)
OR
A word that is spelled and pronounced like another but has a different meaning (homograph and homophone)
So does a homonym have to be both a homograph and a homophone, or can it be just one or the other? As with most things in life, it depends on whom you ask.
In the strictest sense, a homonym must be both a homograph and a homophone. So say many dictionaries. However, other dictionaries allow that a homonym can be a homograph or a homophone.
With so many notable resources pointing to the contrary, are we losing this strict meaning? What then will we call a word that is spelled and pronounced the same as another but has a different meaning? If homonym retains all these meanings, how will readers know what is actually meant?
The careful writer would do well to follow the strict sense, ensuring his meaning is understood immediately.
homograph
Use the noun homograph to talk about two words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and are sometimes pronounced differently — like sow, meaning «female pig,» and sow, «to plant seeds.» Continue reading…
homonym
Can you spot the homonyms in the sentence «The baseball pitcher drank a pitcher of water»? A homonym is a word that is said or spelled the same way as another word but has a different meaning. «Write” and “right” is a good example of a pair of homonyms. Continue reading…
homophone
A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and/or spelling. “Flower” and “flour” are homophones because they are pronounced the same but you certainly can’t bake a cake using daffodils. Continue reading…
In English language, there are many words that spell the same but differ in meaning as per their usage. These are also called homographs. Based on their usage and functions, words are categorized into eight parts of speech. These words change their meaning in accordance to their usage. However the change in the meaning of the word occurs only when the word is used as a noun, adjective, verb and adverb.
To understand this better, let us look at some examples:
CLEAN
- The cottage needs a good clean.
- He clean forgot about dropping the letters in the post box.
- The entertainment was good clean fun for the whole family.
- He cleaned up his act and came off drugs.
In the above example, we have used the word clean and used it in 4 different sentences, each signifying a different meaning, along with its usage as different parts of speech.
Sentence A — The cottage needs a good clean. The word clean in this sentence means the act or an instance of cleaning. Since this is an act, hence it is a noun.
Sentence B — He clean forgot about dropping the letters in the post box. The meaning of the word clean in this sentence is completely, and since it is modifying the word forgot which a verb (action word) is, it is an adverb.
Sentence C — The entertainment was good clean fun for the whole family. In this case, the meaning of the word clean is fit for everyone, nothing obscene. The word in this case is modifying fun, which is a noun; hence the word here is an adjective.
Sentence D — He cleaned up his act and came off drugs. In this case the word cleans means to rid of undesirable features. Clean has been used to denote an action, and hence in this case it is a verb.
LIGHT
- The new lamp had good light for reading.
- Magnesium is a light metal.
- Rahul likes to travel light.
- The choice lighted on me.
Sentence A — The new lamp had good light for reading. In this the word light is being is used to mean a particular quality or type of light. And also it has been used as a noun.
Sentence B — Magnesium is a light metal. In this the word is used to mean having relatively low density, also since it is used to describe the word metal which is a noun, it is an adjective.
Sentence C — Rahul likes to travel light. In this, the word light means little equipment, baggage, etc.
Sentence D — the choice lighted on me. In this the word light is used to denote an action thus it is verb and it means to strike or fall on.
Some of the similar kinds of words are:
LOVE
We love you. (Here, love is a verb as it is showing the action in terms of expressing an emotion)
Love is blind. (Here, Love is a noun as it is a name of an emotion)
WATER
We drink water. (Here, water is a noun as it is name of the thing)
They water the plants. (Here, water is a verb as here it means giving water to plants i.e. an action)
This is a water pipe. (Here, water is a adjective as it is describing pipe which is a noun)
ABOVE
The heavens showered blessings from above. (Here, ‘above’ is used as a noun)
She is above average in intelligence. (Here, above is a preposition as here it is showing the position or the status of the pronoun ‘she’)
Analyze the above sentence. (Here, above is an adjective as it telling something about the noun ‘sentence’)
FAST
He did not take anything during the fast. (It names something, so it is a noun)
Muslims fast during Ramazan. (This is an activity, so fast is a verb)
She speaks fast. (This becomes adverb here as it is describing a verb i.e. )
BACK
I have pain in the back. (It is a noun here)
I will come back in 5 minutes. (It is an adverb here, as it describes verb- come)
Have you closed the back door.(It is describing a noun-door, so it is an adjective)
He backed his car through the gate. (Back is used as a verb here)
NEAR
He lives near the station. (Near is a preposition here)
He got nervous as the examinations neared. (Here, it is a verb)
Most of my near relatives live abroad. (Here, it is used as an adjective for noun-relatives)
I went near enough to see over it. (Near is an adverb here which described enough)
Thus from these examples it is implicit that with different usage, the same word in English language can have different meanings.