In the a English language there are words that are spelled the same but have two or more meanings, a fact I first thought about when a poem I wrote was discussed at a poetry club and completely different interpretations hinged on just one word, that being TEAR. A link to that poem is here.
It got me thinking about how many such English language words (Polysemes) exist. The following words came to my mind, though I now understand there are probably hundreds. If you think of one tell us in a comment below.
TEAR as meaning the tear(s) in your eye(s)
as meaning to tear a piece of cloth or paper as examples
LEAD as meaning the soft toxic metal (used for pipes and roofing)
as meaning to lead a team or a motor race as examples
LIE as meaning to tell an "untruth"
as meaning to lie on a bed to rest
ROW as meaning a row of houses, a row of queuing people
as meaning to row a boat to propel it through water
as meaning row between people (heated conversation)
RIGHT as meaning the opposite of left
as meaning right (correct) answer
LEFT as meaning the opposite of right
as meaning left behind or alone
BEAR as meaning to bear the pain of injury
as meaning an actual animal bear
STICK as meaning a stick of wood
as meaning to stick things together (by glue or grouping)
MINE as meaning this blog is mine
as meaning an actual mine (coal, diamond, etc.)
as meaning a mine buried in ground to blow things to pieces
TANK as meaning a tank on a battlefield
as meaning a water tank
NAIL as meaning a nail for construction
as meaning a nail on a finger or toe
ROOK as meaning a feathered bird
as meaning a chess piece
BIRD as meaning a feathered bird
as meaning a period of time spent in prison
as meaning a woman or girl
Now that you are possibly interested, start reading about many more such words here.
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