November 2026 - Multiple-Meaning Words Study Guide

Core ideas to know

Learn the relationships, not a string of isolated definitions. These are the facts that let you reason through unfamiliar wording.

• A word can change meaning without changing spelling: a patient may present symptoms and receive a present.
• Part of speech narrows meaning; “to discharge” is a verb, while “a discharge” is a noun.
• Nearby objects and modifiers create selection clues: “draw blood” activates a different meaning of draw from “draw a diagram.”
• A homograph shares spelling with another word and may have the same or a different pronunciation.
• Technical fields may use an everyday word precisely, as when “positive” names a test result rather than good news.

A reliable way to answer

Use the same short process every time so the wording of the question does not decide your method for you.

1. Identify the target word’s part of speech and the phrase it belongs to.
2. Temporarily replace it with each possible definition rather than with another ambiguous word.
3. Reject definitions that make the sentence illogical or break its grammar.
4. Check the wider paragraph when two meanings still fit the single sentence.

Distinctions that earn marks

Terms to know

Homograph

A word spelled like another word but different in meaning.

Sense

One particular meaning of a word.

Selection clue

A nearby word that makes one possible meaning fit better than another.

Key points

• Part of speech and nearby words are stronger evidence than familiarity.
• Substitute a plain definition and reread the whole sentence.
• Expect common words to carry specialised meanings in health-related passages.