Words With Multiple Meanings

noun the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness

adjective ambiguous

• The ambiguity in the contract led to a lengthy legal dispute.
• I don't like the ambiguity in her text messages, just tell me what you mean!
• The ambiguity of his excuse was sketchy, I don't believe him.
• The ambiguity of her emotions was like a fog, making it hard to understand her true feelings.

adjective open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning

• The contract language was intentionally ambiguous to allow for flexibility in interpretation.
• I'm not sure what she meant, her message was so ambiguous.
• His excuse was so ambiguous, I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not.
• The painting's meaning was intentionally ambiguous, leaving viewers to interpret it in their own way.

noun a word that has the same spelling or pronunciation as another word but has a different meaning

adjective describing a word that is a homonym

• The word 'bark' is a homonym, as it can refer to the sound a dog makes or the outer covering of a tree.
• I always get confused with homonyms like 'to', 'too', and 'two'.
• I can't believe how many homonyms there are in the English language, it's so confusing!
• The homonym 'bear' can mean an animal or to endure something difficult.

noun a touch of arrogance or bravado

• The scientist displayed great spunk in tackling the complex research project.
• She's got a lot of spunk, always standing up for what she believes in.
• That guy has so much spunk, he's always the life of the party.
• The team showed a lot of spunk in their comeback victory, never giving up until the end.

noun a quality or state of being unclear, indefinite, or lack of precision

• The contract was filled with vagueness, making it difficult to understand the terms.
• Her explanation was full of vagueness, I couldn't really follow what she was saying.
• I hate it when people talk in vagueness, just get to the point!
• The fog enveloped the landscape, creating a sense of vagueness and mystery.

noun a slang term for ejaculating or orgasm

verb to ejaculate or orgasm

• The speaker accidentally spaffed their speech by mispronouncing a word.
• I spaffed my coffee all over my shirt this morning.
• He spaffed his chances with her by being rude.
• The artist spaffed paint all over the canvas in a burst of creativity.

noun A word that changes its meaning, and sometimes pronunciation, when it is capitalized

• A capitonym is a word that changes its meaning and pronunciation when it is capitalized.
• I just learned about capitonyms - words that have different meanings depending on capitalization.
• Capitonyms can be so confusing, like 'polish' and 'Polish'.
• The concept of capitonyms is like a language puzzle waiting to be solved.

noun a particular meaning of a word or phrase, especially as contrasted with a related meaning

• The acception of the new policy was met with mixed reactions from the employees.
• I'm not sure if the acception of your idea will be approved by the team.
• I doubt the acception of that proposal will fly with the boss.
• The acception of her apology was a turning point in their relationship.