Hello and welcome to this English lesson about words that have two meanings, as you can see on the title slide.
We have nails and you can also use a hammer to put in a nail.
In English, there are some words that have the same spelling, the same pronunciation, but two different meanings, and sometimes three.
So once again, welcome to this English lesson about words with two meanings.
I think you'll enjoy it. It's going to be fun.
I have two words on every slide with the definition and a picture to help you remember what you will learn today.
So once again, welcome. to this English lesson about words with two meanings.
Router and router, this was how this lesson came to be.
I was teaching the lesson last week about tools.
As I was teaching that, I saw a router. It wasn't actually in the lesson and then I thought, oh, I have a router.
Mine's actually in the barn. And I also have a router.
So a router is a power tool used for etching or cutting wood.
If you wanted to put your name On a piece of wood, you could use a router and then you could write like I could write Bob with the router and then my name would be etched in the wood.
I could also use it to cut a piece of wood in half.
It's not normally used that way, but you can see that person is edging a piece of wood.
They're putting a really nice edge on the wood using a router.
And then, of course, this electronic device is a device that directs internet traffic. the internet connection comes in from outside of your house or apartment and you plug that cable into a router And it either sends it via Wi-Fi or via more cables to your computer.
So router and router, the pronunciation is identical.
The devices are very, very different. The only thing they have in common is they both plug in.
Although you can get cordless routers now, like the kind for wood.
Bats. So, oh, I was supposed to warn you warning.
There's a scary bat on the next slide that a flying animal, a scary flying animal. believe nocturnal meaning that they fly around at night and then a bat is a stick used in baseball and I believe it's also a used in cricket a different kind of bat i think that's called a bat as well but anyways a bat is a flying animal We actually like bats because they eat a lot of mosquitoes and other bugs at night.
And then... We kind of don't like bats because in our area, a lot of bats have a disease called rabies, which is not a nice disease at all.
If you get in contact with a bat, you often need to go and get your rabies shot.
Bat and bat. Again, it's pronounced exactly the same way, but two completely different things. bark and bark.
Bark is the outer part of a tree. When you walk up to a tree, you'll notice that it has bark.
It's usually rough. Uh if you feel the tree, you could feel all of the bumps and indents on the bark.
And then of course, a bark is also the sound a dog makes.
It's also a verb. You could say, that dog is going to bark.
You could also say, that dog's bark is really loud.
Okay, so you can kind of flip between verb End noun.
So bark, the outer part of a tree or the sound that a dog makes.
Spring. Spring. the season after winter or a coiled piece of metal.
A spring can also be plastic I guess but and then there is a third meaning of spring.
A spring can be a place where water comes out of the ground.
In my area, there aren't a lot of natural springs. but you can find them some places in Ontario, Canada, where very pure, clear water comes out of the ground from a spring.
Meaning number one, it's winter, winter ends, and then the next season is spring.
A beautiful season. In spring, flowers and plants start to grow.
Spring is a coiled piece of metal. When you squish a spring, it will spring back.
So you can also use it as a verb. But if you squish a spring, it has like, This desire to go back to its normal shape.
And then a spring is a place where water comes out of the ground in a natural way. date so date is a fruit from a oh there's a typo there that's supposed to say date palm tree not sate SATE is not an English word.
My mistake. So, I will fix that in the edit but a date is a fruit from a date palm tree.
It's very very sweet. In fact, we often use dates in some of our recipes instead of sugar because dates have lots of fiber.
So they're somewhat healthy. but also quite sweet.
And a date is also a romantic outing or the time and day of an event.
So you could say, I like that person. I'm going to ask if they want to go on a date.
Do they want to go out to eat and maybe go see a movie?
A date is then a romantic outing. because the people are interested in each other in a romantic way.
But it can also be the time and day of an event.
You could say, when's the next date for the meeting.
So at work, you might have a meeting coming up and you could say, well, what's the time and date of the next meeting?
So you could use it both ways to refer to that.
Seal. So a seal is a marine animal. I don't know if you've ever seen a seal in real life.
I have at Marineland. Seal is also a verb that means to close something tightly.
So, when you go to a zoo, you might see a seal.
I think they live in the Arctic. I don't think they live in the Antarctic.
So, if you go to the Arctic, you might see a seal. but we are all more likely to see a seal, the marine animal at a zoo and then if you have leftover food, you might put it in a Ziploc bag and seal it tightly.
You might put it in a bowl and put plastic wrap over top and seal the bowl.
When you seal something, you prevent air from getting to it.
So seal a marine animal and seal to close something tightly.
Nail and nail. A nail is the top, hard end part of a finger or toe. or a small metal spike used in construction. you need to clip your nails with a nail clipper from time to time.
If you want to get your nails done, you go to a place like a nail shop like you might have seen in my most recent video.
If you are putting two pieces of wood together, you might hit a nail into the wood so that they are permanently connected.
So nail and nail, it's the same pronunciation and definitely different meanings.
Watch a small timepiece on your wrist or the act of looking at something.
So let me explain. If you want to know what time it is, most people now just look at their phone.
But if you also are like me, you can look at your watch.
So my watch says that it is 8.51 a.m. And it is Friday, August 29th.
So it's nice. I can look at my watch. It also tells me the date.
So another use of the word date. And it's also the act of looking at something.
Now, let me use some example sentences so that you know what I mean.
You can watch TV. You can watch a YouTube video.
You can watch your children. That means you are making sure they are safe while they play.
Like when our kids were little they Jen and I took turns watching.
You have to watch your kids. Uh if you go to the park, you have to watch your kids.
So a small timepiece on your wrist, or the act of looking at something.
I think I'm going to stay on this size and go between these two from now on.
Jam, a sweet spread made from sugar and fruit.
I think we talked about jam in the lesson about jam versus jelly, the what's the difference lesson. and then when something is stuck or won't move.
So Jen and I get fruit from market. If we wanted to, we could make jam.
We could mix it with sugar. and other ingredients and we could make jam.
If you work somewhere that has a printer or a photocopier, sometimes it gets jammed.
The photocopier is jammed. There's a jam in the photocopier.
If you are in traffic, there might be a traffic jam.
By the way, we call this a paper jam. It's frustrating at work when a lot of teachers need to use the photocopier and there is a paper jam.
We get a little bit annoyed about that. Well, a deep hole used to get water That's a very old fashioned looking well.
Here in Canada, if you have a well, it's usually just a pipe that goes in the ground.
And at the bottom of the well, there's an electric pump. but it's also a word meaning healthy or good.
How are you? I'm well, I'm doing well. Or you can get well or get better, right?
If he's sick, he wants to get well. So a deep hole used to get water or a word meaning healthy or good. rock, a stone or a type of music.
So when you see something like in the far picture, those we would call rocks.
If they're really small, we would call them pebbles.
But when they get bigger and bigger, we usually just call them a rock or a stone.
We tend to use rock and stone interchangeably. picked up some rocks and threw them in the water.
He picked up some stones, he threw them in the water. you are talking about music, it's a short version of the term rock and roll.
So, do you, what kind of music do you like?
I like rock music. I like Classic rock music.
That's actually the type of music that I do enjoy.
Classic rock. So a stone or a type of music. wave a moving ridge of water or a hand gesture.
So, when you go to the lake or if you go to a large sorry, if you go to the ocean or the sea or if you go to a large lake, you will see waves. water will come in to the shore and it will the wave will crest and you will see what you see in the picture over there.
That wave is actually quite big. If I was that man, I would run further out to the shore.
A wave is a hand gesture of greeting or farewell. when you greet someone, it's like, hi, how are you?
I don't often wave to people at work but if you were in a Let's say you were in a large gymnasium or you were at a football match and in the distance, you see a friend.
You might wave and say, hey, hi, hi. like you might yell their name.
Um but definitely when you say goodbye, you say bye everybody.
Um I do this quite often at the end of my videos.
I say bye. And I give a little wave. So a wave is a hand gesture.
Light. It could be the opposite of heavy.
It's very common to imagine a feather when you think of something light.
In fact, in English we use the phrase light as a feather to talk about things that are light.
Light is also something that makes things visible.
It is the thing that emits the light and it's the actual light itself so we use it both ways when you turn on a light, light comes out of the light.
Hopefully that makes sense to you. This light that I have in my room is is making it so light hits my face.
So, I call it a light, the actual object uh but it also will shine light onto me.
The um Are they photons that fly through the air?
Whatever it is, it's really cool. As human beings, we can see.
Match a contest or game. a stick for making fire.
Now the stick for making fire has been replaced with something called a lighter. lighter is a little thing you flick and then it will create a little flame but some people will still have uh use a match to light things.
We use a match to light candles on a birthday cake.
But a match is also a contest or or game.
Did you see the match last night? Did you see the game last night?
I think it's used a lot more for games like football or soccer.
Like I would say, Jen and I went to see a baseball game but someone could very much say, hey, how was the match?
And I can say, oh, it was pretty good. Our team, the Blue Jays won, for instance.
But I do think game might be a little more common in my part of the world.
So in Ontario, Canada, there's something called a fall fair.
So the season of summer is ending. the season of fall or autumn is beginning.
And there are a number of fairs that you can go to.
They are events. They are events with rides and and games.
The fairs that we go to in the fall are agricultural fairs.
So people will also show their cows and chickens and pigs.
They'll bring their best cow to the fair and try to win a prize.
But fair is also being just and equal with people.
Those are the scales of justice, by the way.
As a teacher, I try to be fair with my students.
If a student is sick, And then when they come back, I don't make them write a test the day they come back, especially if they were seriously ill.
I usually say, you missed a test. You need to write it tomorrow.
I try to be fair so that they are, I guess, happy.
Maybe that's not the right word. It's just good to be fair as a teacher.
If two students are fighting, I try to hear both sides of the story before I decide what to do about it.
Letter. So a letter is a character in the alphabet or a written message sent by mail.
So we have decided that you have to actually write the letter with a pen for it to be a letter.
You generally don't send a letter via email.
We call that an email right now. So if I was to say, I'm really annoyed with the government, I'm going to send them a letter, I would mean that I'm going to sit down and write a letter or type it on the computer and print it on paper.
Okay, so it's definitely... in my mind, a written message on a piece of paper.
If I was annoyed with the mayor or the prime minister and I was going to send an email, I would call it that. a letter is also a character in the alphabet.
So you have the letter B over there. Um and you have a lady here who has decided to write a letter. park.
So an outdoor recreation area or to stop a vehicle and leave it.
So one is a noun. One is a verb, right? Um I like to go to the park which is a nice place with trees and benches and walking paths and lots of green grass.
A beautiful outdoor space. So park a park is an outdoor recreation area.
But when I drive my car to the park I I have to find a place to park.
So I've used the same word in the sentence with two meanings.
I need a spot to put my car. I need to park my car.
And we call that a parking space or a parking place or a parking spot.
But yes, a park, an outdoor recreation area, or to stop a vehicle and leave it.
Tie. A piece of clothing worn around the neck which Bob rarely wears or when teams or sides score equally.
So if I did up my top button, I could then go and get a tie from my closet. and I could wear a tie, okay?
So, a piece of clothing worn around the neck, generally by men, although women can wear ties as well.
I have seen that. Their ties are usually a little more fashionable than men's ties.
But generally, men wear a tie when they wear a suit.
In fact, we often say this. What kind of, how should I dress for the event?
It's a suit and tie event. You need to wear a suit and tie.
So a jacket with nice dress pants, dress shirt, and then a tie.
But then when teams or sides score equally like this game is 15 to 15, that is currently a tie.
What is the score right now? It is a Tie.
File. So a file is a collection of documents or a tool for smoothing surfaces.
So, this also came up when I was thinking about tools.
There is something called a file and if you have a piece of metal with rough edges, you can use a file on it.
There's also a simpler form of file that you might use on your nails called a nail file.
Sometimes when people, after they cut their nails, they'll use a nail file.
But a file, a collection of documents. As an employee at my place of work, there's probably a file on me.
And in that file will be a record of my education, a record of any other courses I've taken to become a better teacher.
The school will have a file. that describes everything that I've done there as an employee.
Pitch, to throw a baseball or a playing field.
So when you are playing a baseball game, I'm not sure if you're familiar with it, but there is one person who stands on the mound in the middle of the diamond.
And they will pitch the ball and someone will try to hit it with their bat.
Okay? So pitch is a verb meaning to throw a baseball.
It also refers to like a soccer pitch, football pitch, etc., etc.
So, pitch to throw a baseball or a playing field.
Trip, a journey usually taken while on vacation or to catch your foot on something.
If I say to you, I'm going to go on a trip, it usually means I'm taking time off work and I'm going to another province or another country or to a campground If my mom said, oh, I'm going on a trip next week, in my mind, that would mean she's going far away and she's going. a vacation or to go and visit someone.
If someone goes on a trip they're definitely not working.
And to trip is the verb meaning to catch your foot on something.
I was glad I found this picture. This guy is tripping, the ING verb. form of the verb on a cord.
So, he wasn't watching where he was going and when you do that, sometimes you trip.
Row. line of things arranged in a tidy way or to propel a boat with an oar.
So, if you have a bunch of things on a shelf, you can put them in a nice row.
When you go and sit in the movie theater, you sit in a row.
And it's also called a row, by the way. If you go in a canoe or a kayak, you will use an oar to row so that in order for the boat to go forward, you will row forward.
Ruler, a measuring device made of wood or plastic and it will have centimeters, millimeters, inches on it.
It's generally only about 30 centimeters long.
Sometimes they are 15 centimeters long. Also, I think that's 12 inches or six inches or the leader of a country, usually a king or queen.
So let me explain this. We don't use the word ruler very often often in modern times.
So Canada, we don't have a ruler, we have a leader.
But a long time ago when there were kings and queens, we would say ruler.
Like the ruler of Britain was King George or something like that.
So, ruler. a measuring device made of wood or plastic, or a leader of a country, usually a king or queen.
Like I wouldn't say Donald Trump is the ruler of the United States.
I would say he's the current leader. He's the leader of the U.S.
He's the president of the U.S. ring, a piece of jewelry worn on fingers or the sound of a bell or phone.
So, I have my wedding ring on and I hope my phone doesn't ring during the lesson.
Okay. There are the two examples. If you have a bell, you can also ring the bell.
Pen. something to write with, not a pencil.
So a pen has ink in it. So you can have a blue pen or a black pen or a red pen.
As a teacher, I like to evaluate or grade student work with a red pen.
But it's also a small enclosure for farm animals.
You might have a pen for your dog or cat, but usually you put a dog or cat in a crate different term I think but for me my sense of the word pen is a small enclosure for farm animals like this calf in a pen.
When I was a kid I had to feed all of the calves that were in the calf pens.
So that was one of my jobs as a kid on a farm. point a sharp tip or to indicate with a finger.
I'm not sure if you can see the orange arrow over there.
It's pointing to the tip of the knife. this is my fingertip this is the tip of my finger I can use it to point okay to indicate with a finger I can point at you It's rude I guess to point at people sometimes.
I can point and say look at that. Look at those deer across the river.
Like in my last Wednesdays with Bob members video, there were deer across the river.
It was very cool. So point. A sharp tip, that's the point of the knife or to indicate with a finger.
I'm going to point, the verb. Plane. An aircraft, short for airplane. or a tool for smoothing wood.
So in the far picture, you see what is familiar to all of us, familiar to all of us, an aircraft or airplane or plane.
You go on a plane when you go on a trip.
Here though, we have something called a plane or a hand plane.
You might even call it a planer. In the lesson last week, I talked about a big planer used to smooth wood.
So plane, an aircraft or a tool for smoothing wood.
Change. Coins or money. returned after a purchase so there's actually two meanings in there I have to separate them you can have a lot of change in your pocket that means you have a lot of coins in your pocket you buy something using money, the person will give you your change, okay?
So in one sense, change just means coins.
I have a lot of change in my pocket. I have a lot of coins in my pocket.
But when I buy something... I give someone a $10 bill and they gave me, maybe they give me a $5 bill back and some coins.
I would call that change as well. And then it's also a verb meaning to put on different clothes.
In fact, these guys are in the change room at their local gym, I would imagine, and they've decided to change their clothes.
When you arrive, you're wearing normal everyday clothes but you want to change and put on workout clothing.
So, two meanings. Kind of three meanings in that one, isn't it?
Toast, bread that is heated until crispy or a short speech before taking a sip of a drink.
So, when you have bread, you can put it in an appliance called a toaster and the toaster will heat up the bread and it will brown the bread and it will turn crispy.
And then you can put some butter or jam on the bread and eat it.
If you are at a formal event though, someone might stand up and give a toast.
This is very common at wedding receptions in Ontario, Canada.
So, someone will stand up and say, I'd like to propose a toast to the groom.
I've been friends with him for 20 years.
He's an amazing person. Let's let's toast him and then everyone will clink their glasses together.
And they'll say to the groom and then take a sip.
The glass might have champagne in it. but it might just have juice in it.
You don't have to have an alcoholic beverage, but it's a short speech before taking a sip of a drink. draft a first version of writing or a flow of air.
If you live in a cold climate in the winter.
If you're in a country where winter is very cold, you'll know what a draft is.
If you go by your windows or doors, sometimes air comes in on the sides of the door or the sides of the window especially if the window or door is getting old, okay?
There will be a draft But when you write something, if I was to write a letter to the prime minister, I would write a draft and then I would read it and correct things and then I would create a final draft.
So draft a version of writing or a flow of air.
It's not nice living in a house when it's really cold in the winter. there is a draft.
Um it's nice to fix them with things like what this person is doing.
Weather stripping is what we call it. A deck. a floor of a ship or a pack of playing cards.
So, it's not technically a floor of a ship.
It's like the level you're on. You could be on the upper deck and You can be below deck but it's like the part of the ship where you walk around.
Like I'm going on a boat or I'm going on a ship.
What deck are you on? Oh, I'm on the third one.
Okay. So there is the floor of a ship or a pack of playing cards.
When you buy cards, you get a deck and there are 52 cards in the deck and you will shuffle the deck and then you will deal the cards. club, a heavy stick used as a weapon or a social group or organization.
So if you watch really old or if you watch movies, where there are like people fighting and it's a long time ago, they might have something called a club.
Before there were swords or bows and arrows or guns, one of the first weapons that humans used either for hunting or during war would be a club.
So, a heavy stick used as a weapon. but a club is also a social group or organization.
You can be part of a book club. I could join an archery club once my collarbone heals.
Um And there's also a third meaning. You can go to a club, which would be a place where you can dance and there's loud music.
Like, they're going to the club tonight.
A few different meanings there for club.
A heavy stick used as a weapon or a social group or organization.
Duck. So, we have the noun version, a type of bird or the verb to lower your head quickly.
Like you could duck. If you threw a ball at me, I would duck.
I would duck out of the way. Um but also a duck is a type of bird, a flying animal that likes water.
In fact, uh is probably just as good at swimming in the water on top of the water as it is. at flying and all of those other duck type behaviors.
Um but yeah, you're probably more aware of the to duck the verb uh form to lower your head quickly chest a large strong box for storage Not a lot of people have a chest anymore, but it's also the front part of your body between your shoulders.
So, this is my chest. So, if you work out as um if you're super into bodybuilding especially men your chest muscles will be bigger.
So, the front part of your body between your shoulders is your chest and a large strong box for storage. then lap.
The area above your legs when sitting. This is why we call it a laptop.
So she has a computer on her lap. The lap is the area that of your body that only exists when you're sitting.
When you sit, you can have something on your lap.
You can have a book on your lap. You can have a laptop or computer on your lap, but it's also one circuit around a track.
So if you go and watch a running race on they will run around the track and they will do one lap at a time.
If you run the 800 meter, it's two laps.
If you run the 400 meter, it's one lap. If you run the 3,000 meter, it's six and I don't know how many.
How much is the 300, 3,000 meter? Did I say 300, 3,000 meter?
So that would be nine. I can't do the math, people.
It's too hard. Anyways, laugh.
