Understanding Vocabulary

UNIT 3 MULTIPLE MEANINGS

Structure

3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Homonyms: Words having the Same Sounds and Spellings
3.2.1 Homonyms as the Same Part of Speech
3.2.2 Homonyms as Different Parts of Speech
3.2.3 Homonyms used for Puns
3.3 Homophones: Words having the Same Sounds but Different Spellings
3.3. 1 Homophones as the Same Part of Speech
3.3.2 Homophones as Different Parts of Speech
3.4 Words having the Same Spellings but Different Sounds
3.5 Words with Some Similarity in Sounds and Spellings
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.7 Key Words
3.8 Suggested Reading
Answers

3.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to

• recognize words which have the same sounds and spellings but entirely
different meanings,
• recognize words which have the same sounds but different spellings
and meanings,
• recognize words which have the same spellings but are pronounced differently,
• distinguish between words which have some similarity in sounds and
spellings, and
• increase your vocabulary for spoken and written English and make your use
of the language more effective.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

In the previous unit, you learnt to recognize and use words which had a number of
related but different meanings. In this unit, we are going to deal with words which
are either pronounced similarly or spelt in the same way, or have a partial similarity,
but which have entirely different meanings. While in Unit 3 we discussed words
each of which had a number of related but different meanings, in this unit we shall
take up words which are entirely different even though they look and/or sound alike.
The recognition and use of these words will help you to distinguish between them
and to make your speech and writing clear and effective. These are called homonyms
and homophones. In order to appreciate these we must understand two terms
synonym and antonym.

Synonym refers to the sameness of meaning by means of different words within a

language. E.g., the word 'laryngitis' and 'sore throat' have the same denotative meaning,
although they differ in their context of use, the former used in a more technical sense
than the latter. Similarly, the words ’steed’ and 'charger' in a more poetic way represent
the meaning of the word ’horse'. As a literary device the use of synonyms functions as
emphasis as well as to expand the range of meaning. e.g.

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 But wherefore let we then our faithful friends, Multiple Meanings
Associates and copartners of our loss
Lye thus astonisht on the oblivion pool.
(J. Milton Paradise Lost II, 264-66)

The synonyms used are 'friends', 'associates' and 'copartners' and these show the
close bonds of friendship and co-operations amongst the followers of Satan in Hell.

Antonyms refer to contrasts in word meaning, particularly in adjectives though also

in nouns and verbs, [Link]. hot-cold, young-old, male-female, alive-dead, buy-sell.
These are mainly used to attract attention to a sense of contrast as in the lines below:

Therefore pardon me,

And not impute this yielding to light love,
which in the dark night hath so discovered.
(W. Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet II, ii)

Here the word ‘light' means ‘frivolous’ and we are also aware of it as an antonym to
dark.

3.2 HOMONYMS: WORDS HAVING THE SAME

SOUNDS AND SPELLINGS

Look at the word mint in the following sentences:

1 We grow mint in our kitchen garden. (a plant whose leaves are used
for chutney and for flavouring)

2 These coins have just come from the mint. (place where coins are made
under government authority)

Would you say that mint in sentence 1 and mint in sentence 2 were two different
words pronounced and spelt alike? Or would you say the same word had two
different meanings?

In this section we shall deal with words of this type.

3.2.1 Homonyms as the Same Part of Speech

The words we are going to discuss in this section have three things in common.

i) They have the same pronunciation.

ii) They have the same spellings.
iii) They are used as the same part of speech.

But the meanings of the words are different.

Example:

mole': The mole on her left cheek makes her look more beautiful. (permanent
small dark spot on a person's skin)
2
mole : The fur of a mole is sometimes used for making garments. (a small,
fur-covered animal with tiny eyes. It makes tunnels in the ground to live in.)

Both the words are used as nouns in the sentences above.

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 Check Your Progress 1
Understanding Vocabulary
1. Say what parts of speech the italicized words belong to in these
sentences. Also give their meanings in a few words.
i) a) ‘The interior rooms of Bhupati's house faced a plot of land that it would be
exaggeration to call a garden.’
(Rabindranath Tagore: Broken Nest)

b) 'Here lies the chief clue to the Shakuntala image, even above the pathos
and erotic sentiment implied in the plot or story.'
(Henry W. Wells: Shakuntala's Watering Pot)

ii) a) 'O how long to travel back,

And tread again that ancient track!
That I once more right reach that plain,
Where first I left my glorious train;
From whence the enlighten'd spirit
sees That shady City of Palm-trees!' (From H. Vaughan: The Retreats)

b) Your fate is not written on the palm, but in your work.

iii) a) 'On such occasions Margayya charged a fee for the blank form itself, and
then another for tilling in the relevant details.'
(R.K. Narayan: The Financial Experts)

b) The atmosphere at the party was charged with excitement.

iv) a) A lock of hair hangs on her beautiful forehead.

b) The key to the lock was missing.

v) a) Don't lie on the sand.

b) Don't lie to me.

2. The words in the following pairs of sentences are used in two different
contexts and have entirely different meanings. Can you say what the context
may be in each case? (Choose from the list given below.) Give the meaning
39 of each word. Check your answers.
 months, classroom, hotel, soft drink, parade, Diwali cleaning, on a Multiple Meanings
farm, lending library.

i) a) Write with a blue pen.

b) The tiger got into the pen and carried off an animal.

ii) a) Lime is used for white-washing walls and ceilings.

b) Would you like to have some lime juice?

iii) a) March is generally pleasant in the hills.

b) He fainted during the march.

iv) a) There are several pages missing in this magazine.

b) The page will carry your luggage to the taxi.

3 Look at the diagram for the word flight

below. flight

a set of stairs
the act of flying
between
through the air
floors

natural wings

aero Iders birds insects

The diagram above explains how the different meanings of the word 'flight' are
related to each other and where they branch off or differ from each other. It also
gives details of the different uses.

Make simple diagrams for the following words to bring out the different meanings
with examples. Use your dictionary.

game, table, trunk.

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Understanding Vocabulary

3.2.2. Homonyms as Different Parts of Speech

In this section, we shall deal with homonyms which belong to different parts of speech. For
example, the two words in the following pair are pronounced and spelt alike but have
different meanings and are used as different parts of speech.
Example:

loaf. a) Some young people prefer to loaf about rather than work hard for the
examinations.
(verb: to spend time idly)
b) Please give me a loaf of bread.
(noun: a mass of bread cooked as a separate quantity)

Check Your Progress 2

1 Say which parts of speech the italicized words in ”each pair of sentences
belong to. Give the meanings in a few words.
i) a) He put the money away in a safe.

b) It's not quite safe to go out in the dark here.

ii) a) When you train children to use their imagination they start creating
beautiful

b) ‘The lama, not so well used to trains as he had pretended, started as the 3.25
a.m. south-bound ’roared in.'
(Rudyard Kipling: Kim)

iii) a) Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an island. 2

b) He usually wears a maroon pullover.

iv) a) The poor woman sat on a straw mat.

b) The book had a cover with a mat finish.

v) a) He covered himself with a quilt padded with down.

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 ng Multiple Meanings
3. Let’s

3 b) I am going down to get some wood.

vi) a) That book is mine.

b) There is a gold mine at Kolar.

2. Each of the following is in fact two words with different meanings, that
is, homonyms:

ball, customs, last, seal, start, state.

Activity 2
Using the clues given, fill in the crossword puzzle below.
(Use your dictionary, if necessary.)

1. When you enter a country, you have to pass through and

and get your belongings
checked.
2. Please throw the to me.
3. The President made a speech on the
of the nation.

Clues Down
1. A large fish-eating animal.
2. We have to early to get there on time.
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Understanding Vocabulary

3.2.3 Homonyms Used for Puns

Writers use words with two or more

meanings to say witty things which
are clever and amusing.
E.g. 'How is life?’

‘Depends on the liver’.

The word 'liver' above can be either of two words, both of

which would fit the context above. The sentence could
mean: 'Life depends on how good your liver (the organ n the
body which produces bile and cleans the blood) is.' Or it could mean:
'Life depends on the person who lives it.' This play on the word
‘Liver' is called a pun.

Check Your Progress 3

Explain the 'puns' in the following puzzles. Use your dictionary if necessary:

i) Why can't your nose be twelve inches long? Because then it would be a foot.

ii) Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? It didn't have the guts.

iii) What did the traffic light say to the car? Don’t look now. I’m changing.

3.3 HOMOPHONES: WORDS HAVING THE SAME

SOUNDS BUT DIFFERENT SPELLINGS

In the previous sections of this unit we have already discussed homonyms, which
have the same sounds and spelling but have different meanings. Now we shall
discuss words which are spelt differently but pronounced alike. These are called
homophones.

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3.3.1 Homophones as the Same Part of Speech Multiple Meanings

Take these words

doe (noun) A doe played about on the grass.

(a female deer)

dough (noun) The woman made dough for the bread.

(paste of wheat flour)

The sounds of the two words above are the same. They are both nouns. But they are
spelt differently and their meanings are entirely different, too. We must avoid
mixing up such words in our writing.

Check Your Progress 4

Say to what parts of speech the pairs of italicized words used in the following
sentences belong and give their meanings in a few words.

i) a) I met Yamuna at the school/eye yesterday.

b) People blame/ate for all their failures.

ii) a) He lost a lot of money gambling at cards.

b) The children can gambol on the lawn here.

iii) a) The teacher gave the students an oral exercise.

b) The student must try to develop his aural comprehension by listening to

spoken English.

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Understanding Vocabulary 3.3.2 Homophones as Different Parts of Speech
The pairs of words used above belonged to the same part of speech. But there are
pairs of words pronounced alike but spelt differently, and used as different parts
of speech. They have different meanings too.

E.g. braid (noun) The girl wore her hair in braids.

(strands of hair woven together)

brayed (verb ) The donkey brayed aloud.

(made a sound like that of a trumpet )

Check Your Progress 5

1 Match the words in columns A and B having the same sounds.

A B
Beer Carrot
ceiling scent
cellar serial
corps boil
Cent seller
carat bid
Core
bowl Bier
Cereal
Dam sealing
Course

2. Make sentences bringing out the difference in meaning in these pairs of

words. Use your dictionary,
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 Multiple Meanings
i) fare

fair

ii) hew

hue

iii) illicit
elicit

v) hare

vi) gait

vii) tire/ Tyre

3 Say whether the words italicized in the sentences below are used
properly or not.
Say what the correct word is.

i) He ring the bell to indicate the alarm.

ii) Would you like to have red beet for salad?

iii) Did they bury the dead man?

iv) The urgent up Mount Everest was difficult.

v) Some poor people have to live on alms.

vi) Thank you for the complement!

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Understanding Vocabulary vii) There is no electric current in the wire.

4 Where is the play on words or ‘pun’ in the following?

i) ‘How is bread made?’

'I know that!' Alice cried eagerly. You take some flour .....
‘Where do you pick the dower?' the White Queen asked, 'In a garden or in
the hedges?’
‘Well, it isn't picked at all', Alice explained: it's ground ........ ...............
How many acres of ground said the White Queen.
(Lewis Carroll’s: Alice Through the looking Glass)

ii) ‘Mine is a long and sad tale!’ said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing 'It
is a long tail certainly,' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse’s
tail, 'but why do you call it sad?
(Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

iv) ‘Not on thy sole but on thy soul, harsh

Jew Thou mak'st thy knife keen.'
(William Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice)

3.4 WORDS HAVING THE SAME SPELLINGS BUT

DIFFERENT SOUNDS

Look at these sentences:

1 A row of books stood on the shelf.

2 There was a big row outside my house.

In 1 row means 'a number of things in a line*, pronounced/ruu/.

In 2 row means 'a noisy disturbance", pronounced / rau /.

We should be careful not to confuse such words.

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Check Your Progress 6 Multiple Meanings

Consult your dictionary and write down two pronunciations of these words and give their
different meanings.

bow

entrance

live

3.5 WORDS WITH SOME SIMILARITY IN SOUNDS

AND SPELLINGS

Till now we have discussed words pronounced or spelt alike. Here are some words which
have only slight differences in pronunciation and spelling; this causes confusion.

Examples.

1) access (noun) right of approaching; way to a place.

excess (noun) the fact of being more than what is proper .

There is no access to the house through this part of the forest.

lxi excess of rich fried food is bad for anyone.

2) career (noun) progress through life; profession.

carrier ( noun) a person or company that carries goods or
people for payment.
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Understanding Vocabulary A career in journalism is quite exciting.
India has a number of aircraft carriers.

Check Your Progress 7

1 Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with suitable words from the list
given here:

alternate symmetry carrots artist

alternative cemetery carat grave
art
artiste

i) You should eat if you want to improve your

eyesight.
We bought butter and milk from the
You must come for a check-up every day.
The soldier was buried in this
Yamini Krishnamurti is a renowned
This building lacks in design.
Our plan has failed. We must look for an
solution.
Shyam bought a 24 gold watch.
It is convenient to make a note of all one's appointments in a

The painted the portrait in a hurry.

2 Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. Check
your answers,

Before actually entering the university for my B.A., I had a whole year's reprieve
by failing in the university entrance examination held in the high school. I had
expected to fare ill in physics and chemistry, both of which had defied my
understanding. I never understood what I was expected to do with the "data"
provided with the so-called problems the relevance of "atmospheric pressure" or
"atomic weight," or what to do with logarithm tables, or the why or how of a
"normal" solution. These points never became clear to me either through my own
efforts or through our teacher's explanations. I had been certain of failure in these
two subject, but, as if by a miracle, I had somehow passed in them, though not
with flying colours. On the contrary, I had failed where I was most confident —
English. I failed so miserably and completely that everyone wondered if I was
literate at all. My father, in spite of his strict attitudes in school matters, had one
very pleasant quality — he never bothered about the examination results. He
always displayed sympathy for a fallen candidate; he had no faith in the
examination system at all. But even he was forced to exclaim in surprise, "Stupid
fellow, you have failed in English! Why?" Proficiency in English being a social
hallmark, I remained silent without offering any explanation, though I knew
why. One of our English texts was a grey-bound book of chilling dullness called
Explorations and Discoveries, pages full of Mungo Park's expeditions and so
forth. In my whole career I have not come across any book to match its
unreadability. I had found it impossible, and totally abolished it from my
universe, deciding to depend upon other questions in the examination from
Oliver Twist or Poetical Selections. But I found in the examination hall that four
out of six questions were based on Explorations - that horrible man the question-
setter seemed to have been an abnormal, explorationist. I gave up, left the
examination hall in half an hour, and sat in contemplation on one of the brick
monuments beside the lily pond.
(From R.K. Narayan: My Days, Orient Paperbacks)
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Glossary Multiple Meanings

reprieve postponement; delay

defied offered difficulties that could not be overcome
'data facts
'atmospheric ‘pressure: pressure due to the weight of the column of air
above a point; about 6.6 kg. per square inch at sea
atomic weight level weight of an atom of an element expressed
on a scale in which an atom of oxygen is 16
’logarithm one of a series of numbers which make it possible
to work out problems in multiplication and
division by adding and subtracting.
Example: 2 3 = 8 therefore, 3 is the logarithm of 8
to base 2, or 3 = log 2 8. remarkable and
'miracle surprising event with great success
with 'flying'coIours
on the 'contrary a phrase used to make a contradiction more
'literate emphatic able to read and write
proficiency skill; being an expert
'hallmark distinguishing characteristic (of
'chilling' excellence) making cold
Expedition a journey for a definite purpose
Unreadability the quality of not being easy or pleasant to
abolished read do away with
universe Everything that exists
abnormal different from what is normal
explorationist one who makes a special study of explorations
Contemplation deep thought
Monument a building, column, or statue serving to keep
alive the memory of a person or event

Questions
i) In what subjects did the author pass even though he didn't expect to?

ii) What subject did he fail in?

iii) Choose the best answer:

The author's father was not disturbed by his son's examination results because
a) he was a man of wide sympathies.
b) he did not think the examination system was fair and reliable.
c) he knew that his son was stupid.

iv) Why was it necessary to learn English well in those days?

v) 'abolished it from my universe' means that he paid no attention to that

book. Therefore, abolished and universe here are examples of
a) multiple meanings.
b) extended meanings.
Which?

Give homophones for 'whole' and 'fare'

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Understanding Vocabulary
vii) Say yes or no.
a) entrance in this passage refers to the examination which had to
be passed in order to enter the university for higher studies.
b) tables here mean pieces of furniture with the tops and legs.
c) subjects here mean members of a State ruled over by a king.
d) faith here means religion.
e) bound here means fastened and covered with cardboard.
f) career is a support for luggage, etc. fixed to a bicycle, motor-car, etc.

3.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you have learnt

• to distinguish words having the same pronunciation and spelling,

but different meanings,
• to distinguish words pronounced alike but spelt differently,
• to distinguish words which are spelt alike but pronounced differently, and
• to use such words correctly in your own writing to make it more effective.

3.7 KEY WORDS

'homonym: a word that is the same in form and sound as another but different
in meaning
e.g. about = a little more or less than
(about three kilometers)
about = here and there
(they were running about)
'homophone: a word pronounced like another but different in meaning, spelling or

e.g. son, sun.

pun: humorous use of different words which sound the same or of two meanings
of the same word.

3.8 SUGGESTED READING

1. Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

2 R.K. Narayan: My Days.

ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1 i) a) noun: a piece of ground, usually small.
b) noun: plan of the events in a story.
ii) a) noun: a tree growing in warm climates with no branches and a mass of
large leaves at the top.
b) noun: inner surface of the hand between the wrist and the fingers.
iii) a) verb: asked as a price.
51 b) verb: filled.
 iv) a) noun: portion of hair that naturally hangs together. Multiple Meanings
b) noun: appliance or mechanism by which a door, lid, etc. may be
fastened with a bolt.
v) a) verb: put oneself flat on a horizontal surface.
b) verb: make a statement that one knows to be untrue.

2 i) a) classroom; an instrument used for writing.

b) on a farm; an enclosure for cattle.
ii) a) Diwali cleaning; white substance got by burning limestone.
b) soft drink; a round, juicy fruit like a lemon but more acid.
iii) a) months; the third month of the year.
b) parade; the act of walking with a regular step.
iv) a) lending library; one side of a sheet of paper in a book, etc.
b) hotel; a boy servant in a hotel, club, etc.

3
game

tennis cricket football cards

table

a piece of furniture list of facts, information

consisting of a flat top etc. arranged in columns
With legs

dining table kitchen billiard table of multiplication railway

table table contents tables time
table

main part of any structure A large box with a hinged lid

main stem of a tree body without trunk line for carrying boot of
(contrasted with the head, arms or - main line clothes, etc. a car
branches) legs of a railway while (American)
travelling

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Understanding Vocabulary
Check Your Progress 2

1 i) a) noun: a fireproof and burglarproof box in which money and other

valuable are kept.
b) adjective: free from danger.
ii) a)verb: teach and give practice to someone.
b) noun: train = a number of railway coaches, wagons, etc. joined
together.
iii) a)verb: put on a desert island, uninhabited coast, etc. and abandoned there.
b) adjective: of brownish-red colour.
iv) a)noun: a piece of material, woven or plaited, of straw, fibre, etc. used
as a floor covering or for sleeping on.
b) adjective: dull, not shiny.
v) a) noun: soft under-feathers of birds.
b) adverb: from a higher to a lower place.
vi) a) (possessive) pronoun: belonging to me.
b) noun: excavation in the earth from which minerals are extracted.

2 Across: 1 customs 4 ball 6 state

Down: 2 seal 3 start 5 last

Check Your Progress 3

i) 'a foot' can mean both 'twelve inches' and 'the lower end of the leg, beginning
at the ankle'.
ii) 'guts' can mean both 'intestines' and 'courage'.
iii) 'changing' here can mean both 'changing the colour', e.g., green to red, or
'changing clothes'.

Check Your Progress 4

i) a) noun: a festival or entertainment, usually outdoor.

b) noun: destiny, the power looked upon as controlling all events.
ii) a)verb: playing grates of chance for money.
b) verb: make playful, jumping or skipping movements.
iii) a)adjective: using the spoken word.
b) adjective: related to hearing.

Check Your Progress 5

A B
Beer Bier
Ceiling Sealing
Cellar Seller
Corps Core
Cent Scent
Carat Carrot
Bowl Boll
Cereal Serial
Dam Damn
Course Coarse

2 i) What is the bus/are to the station?

I met an old friend at the trade
fair.
ii) Let's New down this branch, as it keeps striking the electric
wires. Look at the beautiful hues of the rainbow.
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 iii) Some people have been arrested for illicit sale of opium. Multiple Meanings
I tried my best to elicit the truth from him
iv) He applied grease to the rusty parts of the
machine. Athens is the capital of Greece.
v) A hare was eating grass on our
lawn. His hair is falling fast.
vi) I can recognize a person by his gait.
We have to buy the tickets at the gate before entering the exhibition grounds.
vii) The front tyre of our scooter was
punctured. A long walk will tire the child.

3 i) No. It should be bell.

ii) Yes.
iii) No. It should be buried.
iv) No. It should be ascent.
v) Yes.
vi) No. It should be compliment.
vii) No. It should be current.
4 i) The words flour and flower are homophones, that is, they have the same sounds,
but different spellings and meanings. They are mixed up here by the White
Queen. Again 'ground' is two words which are homonyms. In the first use, it
means the past participle form of 'grind' that is, reduced to powder by
crushing between millstones. In the second use, it means 'the surface of the

ii) ‘Tale’ and 'tail' are homophones. The Mouse and Alice mix up the two words.
iii) The Jew is shown as sharpening his knife on the under surface or the
sole of his shoe. The speaker means that the Jew's 'soul' will suffer.
'Sole' and '5oui' are homophones.

Check Your Progress 6

bow (n. ) a piece of wood curved by a tight string used for shooting arrows. bow!
Bow (v.) to bend the head or body.
entrance (n.) opening by which one enters.
entrance (v.) to fill with emotion and delight.
live (v.) to be alive.
live (adj .) having life e.g. live fish.

Check Your Progress 7

1 i) carrots, ii) dairy, iii) alternate, iv) cemetery, v) artiste, vi) symmetry,
vii) alternative, viii) carat, ix) diary, x) artist.
2 i) In physics and chemistry
ii) In English
iii) b)
iv) It was a hallmark of social status.
v) b) extended meanings
vi) whole — hole
fare — fair
vii) a) Yes, b) No, c) No, d) No, e) Yes, f) No.

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