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Multiple Meanings

Multiple Meanings Quiz

Common Multiple Meanings (Advanced)

Multiple Meanings III: Human Characteristics

 

Section 1: Noun & Verb:

(root words are nouns)

  • an arch – The bridge arches over the wide river
  • an arm – We have to arm ourselves to defend against the invaders 
  • an act – Good leaders have to act responsibly 
  • a bag – I have to bag my shopping quickly at the counter
  • a ball – When I make a mistake in sketching, I ball up the paper and throw it away
  • bangs – He bangs on the door every morning
  • bark – The dog barks at every visitor
  • a bat – He will bat for the baseball team
  • a bear – We just have to grin and bear it! / I can’t bear the sound of that violin!
  • a bed – We have to bed the flowers properly or they will not grow well
  • a bill – We have to bill the customers for the product we sent them two days ago
  • a bit – The dog bit me on the leg yesterday 
  • a block – The police block the traffic when there is an accident 
  • a blow – You must blow through the mouthpiece to get sound out of the flute
  • a bluff – He is always trying to bluff me at poker
  • a border – France borders at least four different countries
  • a bow – The diplomat will bow in front of the King
  • a bowl – We go bowling every Friday
  • a box – We have to box the presents before the children get home
  • a break – Careful or you will break your arm!
  • a brush – We have to brush this floor to get it clean
  • a call – Please call me in the morning at 7 a.m. 
  • a can – We can still get the train if we hurry!
  • change – Can you change this ten euro note into coins for me please?
  • a charge – I will charge him extra for delaying me half an hour
  • a catch – Try to catch the ball when I throw it to you
  • a check – I must check out the new design to see if it looks good
  • a chest – He chested down the ball before kicking it into the net
  • a circle – The airplane is circling the airport, waiting to land
  • a clip – I have to clip these pages together, otherwise I will lose them all.
  • a club – The burglar clubbed the old man on the heading, knocking him unconscious.
  • a coach – 
  • a comb – 
  • cool – 
  • a corn – 
  • a court – 
  • a crow – 
  • a cut – 
  • a dart – 
  • a date – Archaeologists try to accurately date artefacts that they find
  • a deck – 
  • a draw – Germany drew with France / My niece drew a lovely picture of her house / The match ended in a draw 
  • a drive – We have to drive to Belfast in the morning
  • a duck – 
  • a face – We have to face her tomorrow no matter what happens
  • a fall – Be careful or you will fall! / There was a large fall of snow last night / I had a bad fall yesterday so I’m still a little sore
    “Pride Comes before the Fall”
  • a felt – I felt sick yesterday / The carpet is partially made of felt 
  • a figure – The price he quoted me was a very large figure / I found it difficult to figure out what the answer was / She has a lovely figure / The issue of disarmament figured prominently in the negotiations.
  • a file –
  • a film –
  • a fine – I was fined 90 Euros for speeding / I had to pay the speeding fine straight away
  • a float – I floated a radical idea at yesterday’s meeting / There were over ninety different floats in the parade/ I wear floats on my arms because I cannot swim
  • a fly – I am learning to fly / The fly (zip) on my jacket is broken / There are so many flies around because of the heat!
  • a fool – Be careful with him – he is always trying to fool people / He is not very smart – he’s actually a bit of a fool/ He likes to act the fool. 
  • a foot – I broke my foot when I kicked a concrete post / I hate having to always foot the bill when we go to a restaurant/ The village is located at the foot (base) of the mountain
  • a game – We like to play board games at Christmas / He is game (eager) for anything challenging/ The big corporations have gamed the system to suit themselves
  • a glass – He dropped the glass on the floor and it broke / The conservatory is entirely glassed in /
  • a grade – My grades were very low when I started university because I was always having a good time! / My teacher has to grade so many papers during his Christmas holidays / It is a very low grade of wool used in carpets
  • the ground – I tripped over the bicycle and fell on the ground / After the accident, all the other aircraft were grounded / When my parents found out I was smoking, they grounded me for three months
  • a gum – I need to gum the back of this poster so it will stick to the wall
  • the hail – I hailed a taxi / She hails from Germany / the hail storm came on very suddenly
  • a hand – I broke two fingers on my left hand / I had to hand in my report within two days of the incident / Can you give me a hand with this? It is really heavy?
  • a hang – I tried to learn Russian, but I couldn’t get the hang of it. (Couldn’t figure out/ understand it)
    – I have to hang this picture on the wall
  • a head – I have a pain in my head / He is the head (CEO) of the corporation / He will head up the investigation / He headed the ball into the net / Use your head!
  • a hide – the hide of cows is used to make shoes. (n)
    –     we have     to hide the puppies before the landlord comes to the house (v)
  • a hit – I hit the tennis ball with a racket / The new song was an instant hit – it went straight to Number One in the charts
  • a hold – I hold firmly onto the handlebars when I am cycling downhill at speed / The cargo is placed in the hold of a ship
  • the ice – The lake will ice over if the temperatures drop significantly / I have to ice the cake before putting it in the fridge / The Titanic hit a large lump of ice – an iceberg.
  • an iron – The gate is made of iron / We have to iron out the problems with this new software
  • the jam/ a jam – * I really like strawberry jam / I had to jam all the clothes into the suitcase to make them fit! / I will be late – I am stuck in a traffic jam! / Can anyone fix the photocopier – it’s jammed again!
  • a jar – That music is so loud & coarse it jars my nerves! / A jar of strawberry jam
  • land –
  • a lap – He ran one full circuit of the stadium – an entire lap / Puppies love to jump up onto your lap when they are more than 6 weeks old / The cat laps up his milk quickly / He lapped up the applause enthusiastically
  • lean – He leans against the wall as he is exhausted / He is very lean – he has no excess fat whatsoever leaves –
  • a letter – I received your letter yesterday / The child likes to letter her name in gold pen / The letter ‘P’
  • lie – I need to lie down, I’m exhausted! / Don’t tell lies – it will only make me angrier! / Don’t lie to me – I know what really happened
  • line – I need a ruler to draw a straight line on the paper / We formed a line around the embassy to protest / I have to line the pitch every week before the rugby matches
  • loaf – Use your loaf! (brain) / I have to go to the shop to get a loaf of bread / Stop loafing around and get back to school – you’ll be late!
  • log – Every time I use Facebook, I have to log in / The captain of a ship keeps a log of all events / Every night, the captain of a ship logs the events of the day / We cut down the old oak tree and chopped it into logs for the fire
  • a match –
  • a nail – I have to nail this picture to the wall / We have to nail down a date for the event
  • a nap – I am going for a quick nap, for about an hour / I like to nap in the evenings
  • a net – The fishermen cast their net into the ocean / We will net a handsome profit if this business goes well
  • a note – The singer couldn’t hit the high note as she had a sore throat / I will write a note to your teacher / I noted the difference in price between the two supermarkets / He is a scientist of note
  • a page – We have to turn the page on this particular episode / I will page you once the call comes through / He was the page boy for his aunt’s wedding
  • a palm – The goalkeeper palmed the ball away from the goals / He has her in the palm of his hand / He palmed off the cheap old table as an antique
  • a park – We like to go playing in the park / I have to park my car before going into the hospital / We should park this idea until a later date /
  • a part – Studying is a very important part of my life / We will part company in the next few days when I move to a different country
  • a pass – Old people have a free pass for public transport / The midfielder passed the ball to the striker / I like to pass the time away doing crosswords / The old man passed away at 92
  • a peep – The private investigator peeped through the keyhole to see if someone was inside / I don’t want to hear a peep out of you kids! / The soldier peeped over the wall to see if the attacking army had retreated
  • a stamp – I stamp my foot on the ground to get attention / I need a 32cent stamp to send this litter / I have to stamp the letter before I send it
  • a ring – Her engagement ring was very expensive / The fighters entered the boxing ring / I had to ring my brother to get help with moving / The police ringed the building after the suspect took hostages
  • a shot – The soldier shot at the target / The shot rang out across the hills / I would like a shot of whiskey / I am not too good at driving, but I will give it a shot / The golfer’s shot veered left into the lake

 

Section 2: Verb / Noun / Adjective

  • Base – We should base our plans on similar companies / The base of the pole fits into the ground / The idea is just base – I find it disgusting and immoral
  • Brave –
  • Brand –
  • Class – Our class starts at 2 p.m. / I class it as a mistake / He is very polite and has great class
  • Diamond –
  • Faint –
  • Fall –
  • Fine – I was fined 90 Euros for speeding / I had to pay the speeding fine straight away / It is a fine day – not a cloud in the sky!
  • Firm – The table is made of oak and is therefore very firm / Our firm was set up in 1972 /I have to firm up the numbers in this report before I submit it
  • Fit – I have to fit extra classes in before the exam / I have to fit my new suit today so it can be finished / He exploded in a fit of temper / Most professional athletes are extremely fit.
  • Form* –
  • Fleet – The fleet is made up of 24 ships / A fleeting glance / He is ‘fleet of foot’ (quick on his feet)
  • Game –
  • Initial –
  • Key – I had to key in all 14 digits of the phone number before calling / I lost my key so I couldn’t get in last night / The key point in his argument is that climate change is accelerating
  • kid –
  • light –

 

Section 3: Verb / Noun / Adjective / Adverb

  • Back – I like to back horses once a month (bet on horse-racing)
    My back is really in pain
    The back kitchen is full of rubbish
    He put the magazine back on the table
  • Buck –
  • Clear –
  • Down –
  • Fair –
  • Last – He crashed on the last lap of the race /
    The last of the wine was gone by 11 p.m. /
    Will the wine last the whole party? /
    He was last heard of in 1998.
  • Left –
  • Like* –
  • Long –

 

Section 4: Multiple Adjective

  • Blue – The blue car is outside the house
    I’m feeling kind of blue today (Feeling ‘down’)
  • Bright –
  • Dry –
  • Dull – He is not very intelligent, he is in fact quite dull. / The table top needs to be polished – it is quite dull!
  • Heavy –
  • Sharp –
  • Soft –
  • Working –

Section 5: Multiple Nouns

  • Bulb –
  • Calf –
  • Case –
  • Ear – My ear is sore / He has a natural ear for music.
  • Face –
  • Fair –
  • Film –
  • Joker – He is always playing practical jokes on people – he is such a joker! / The Joker card is always a wild card in Poker/
  • Jumper – My grandmother bought me a new woolly jumper for Christmas / Monkeys are great jumpers!
  • lap –
  • letter –
  • trunk –

 

Section 6: Multiple Verb

  • draw/ drew/ drawn –
    Germany drew with France /
    My niece likes to draw pictures /
    It is important not to draw conclusions too early /
    I hate it when the doctor draws blood from my arm for a test /
  • face –
  • hurt –
  • lap –
  • lie –
  • line –
  • mark/ marks/ marked –
  • play –
  • lives/ lived/ live –
  • grow/ grows/ grown –
  • put –
  • raise –

 

Section 7: Verb / Adjective

  • Cool –
  • Dull – Time dulls the memory.

Section 8: Prepositions

  • Down –
  • Up –
  • Bottom –
  • Side –
  • Right –
  • Left –
  • Close –
  • Into –

Section 9: Adjective / Adverb

  • hard – He pushed hard against the door / The bare floor is made of concrete so it is very hard
  • fast – The car was travelling too fast / The conversation was very fast so I found it difficult to keep up.

 

Section 10: Noun / Adjective

  • kind – I don’t believe that he stole that money – he is simply not that kind of person / He is very conscientious and kind – he looks after everyone

 

 

 

 N. B. Be aware of abstract qualities of people, as these are usually the basis for at least one question in each CAE Exam:

  • a ‘sharp’ business brain –
  • a ‘soft’ approach to disciplining a dog/ child –
  • a ‘dull’ individual –
  • a ‘bright’ individual –
  • a ‘keen’ individual –
  • a ‘tight’ individual –
  • a ‘dry’ sense of humour –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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