Crossed meanings

Be careful! These 12 words with double meaning might get you in trouble

English is full of surprises, especially the kind that makes you read twice. You’ve probably said or read a word one way your whole life, only to find out it’s got a sneaky second meaning (or even a totally different pronunciation). These words, called homographs, look the same on paper but have two or more meanings. Some even change how they are pronounced depending on what they’re doing in a sentence. Here are 12 classic examples that are sure to amuse, confuse, and maybe even make you question everything you thought you knew.

Here’s one that trips people up in both speech and spelling. "Lead" (rhyming with "reed") means to guide someone or something, like when you lead a group on a walk. But spelled the same, "lead" (rhyming with "red") is a heavy metal once used in pipes and paint.

Same letters, completely different use. One makes you feel like a confident icon, the other is banned from gas and drinking water.

Have you ever cried watching an old movie and then torn up a tissue in frustration? Then, you touched on both of these homographs.

"Tear" (like "tare") means to rip something apart, which is pretty straightforward. But "tear" (like "teer") is also what falls from your eyes when emotions run high. The two meanings couldn’t be more different; one is physical destruction, the other is an emotional outpouring.

Picture this: you’re fishing and catch a bass, then head home and crank up the bass on your stereo. Same word, wildly different scenes.

One refers to a popular fish, often fried and served with hushpuppies. The other is all about that low-end thump in music that rattles your windows. Oddly enough, they’re pronounced completely differently: "base" for the sound, "bass" (like "class") for the fish.

English really takes a turn with "wind." When you feel the wind blowing through your hair, it’s that breezy force of nature. But when you wind your old alarm clock or a jack-in-the-box, you’re giving it a spin.

In this case, the pronunciation changes, and so does the meaning, but only one gets leaves stuck in your teeth.

Few words are as fashionably confusing as "bow." Take a bow on stage after a performance, or tie a bow on a birthday present. In one case, you’re bending forward graciously; in the other, you’re accessorizing.

It’s worth noting there's a third "bow," as in the curved weapon that shoots arrows, just to keep you on your toes.

In America, "row" often brings up images of gently paddling down a stream, singing songs, and enjoying nature. In Britain, however, a "row" (rhymes with "cow") is a noisy argument, like the kind couples have in rom-coms. Add to that the line of chairs in a movie theater or a "row" of houses, and now you’ve got three meanings from one tidy little word. How’s that for polysemy?

Talk about small surprises: "minute" (as in time) is what you watch tick away. But "minute" (rhyming with "my newt") means something tiny, like a minute crack in your favorite mug.

You’d never guess they’re related, but both come from Latin roots about measurement.

You wouldn't want to desert your friend in the desert, but English seems fine with doing just that. "Desert" (DEH-zurt) is a dry, sandy place full of cacti and tumbleweeds. But "desert" (dih-ZURT) means to abandon someone.

It’s a real twist when the same word covers both literal emptiness and emotional betrayal. It also explains why spellcheck can’t always save you.

You might refuse to take out the refuse, and honestly, who can blame you? "Refuse" (reh-FYOOZ) means to decline something, like offers of leftovers or unsolicited advice. "Refuse" (REH-fyoos) is the garbage you’re probably avoiding.

It’s the kind of word pair that hides in plain sight; in any case, both might lead to stinky situations.

There’s something magical about a word that can give a gift and deliver a speech. "Present" as a noun is something you give wrapped with a bow and possibly a gift receipt. "Present" as a verb, and with the accent on the last syllable, means to introduce or showcase something, like an award or a slideshow.

The meanings actually share a root: both involve offering something. But one gets applause, the other gets unwrapped.

A grocery-store homograph; when you produce something, you’re creating that thing. But when you shop for produce (accent on the first syllable), you’re looking for fresh fruits and veggies.

Both meanings involve growth, but one is from a creative mind, the other from soil and sunshine.

Be careful with this one: you can sign a CON-tract… or con-TRACT the flu. The first one, a noun, is a legal document you agree to. The second one, a verb, means to shrink or to catch something unpleasant, like having a virus or a muscle cramp. Again, pronunciation changes, but spelling is the same. So whether you’re dealing with paperwork or pathogens, just know this word has range. And maybe wash your hands either way.

Do you have a favorite weird brand name?

Yahoo!, Kodak & beyond: Odd brand names and their origins

Image: Alexander Shatov

Some brand names are more straightforward than others. Some are named after their founders or places of origin, some are a description of their products, and others are simply words that sounded right to the people who created them. The following 10 are examples of brand names that, when taken out of their context, sound simply odd. What does Haribo mean? And what about Garmin? These words, now ubiquitous, don’t seem to describe the product they represent but still, are part of our daily lives. Did you know any of their stories?

Image: Jaimie Harmsen

An unusual name when it was presented and now, Yahoo! comes from the book "Gulliver’s Travels" where the word was used to refer to unsophisticated youths. Of course, the founders weren’t trying to define its users this way, they just liked how the name sounded, particularly with the added exclamation mark.

While this name is certainly odd, it’s memorable and rolls easily off the tongue, making it a good choice for a tech brand. And, like all the following entries on this list, has become a household word, making it much more acceptable to everyone.

Image: britt gaiser

Kodak is an example of a made-up name that doesn’t appear to have a lot of meaning at first glance. When coming up with the brand name, George Eastman, the founder, concentrated a lot of his attention on the letter "K", which he considered to be a particularly strong-sounding one.

As he said: "I devised the name myself. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words start and end with 'K.' The word 'Kodak' is the result." Eastman also selected Kodak's distinctive yellow trade dress, which is widely known throughout the world.

Image: Markus Clemens

Reebok has a weird name for a sports-focused brand. According to the company, the name comes from the word "Rhebok", which is a kind of African antelope. The founders liked the word, which they found in a South African dictionary, and felt it was a compelling term to use for their own business. After a slight wording change, the now-famous brand was born.

Since the antelope is a creature often connected with speed, it makes a lot of sense for an athletics brand. Since then, the word has been showcased everywhere.

Image: Centre for Ageing Better

Xerox is a strange word, and it sounds unusual when spoken out loud. But, there’s some deeper meaning to this title. It means "dry writing" when translated from Greek and refers to the unique process of printing created by the Xerox company.

As it turns out, Joseph C. Wilson, who is credited as the "founder of Xerox", was looking for a term to differentiate its new system, hired a Greek scholar at Ohio State University, and coined the term xerography, which in turn, became the root of the name we now today.

Image: Alexander Shatov

At first, Twitter was going to be called "Twitch" and then "Status." But neither of those names seemed to fit the bill. After consulting the Thesaurus, the founder, Jack Dorsey, and his team came up with the name "Twitter," meaning a short statement of inconsequential content, never imagining that sitting US presidents would one day use his app as a political platform.

After the company exchanged hands, the name was changed to "X" but most people still refer to it by its old name and even call the postings, "twits".

Image: Christian Wiediger

Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, wanted the name "Cadabra" for his online bookstore, as in Abracadabra. But when his lawyer heard the name and said that it reminded him of cadaver, the term was shelved. After that, Bezos decided to go with Amazon because words that began with the letter "A" were the first to appear in the old internet directories. And, apparently, he liked the word "Amazon".

It might seem hard to believe that the behemoth company that Amazon is today started on such a whimsical note, but it did.

Image: Egor Myznik

A portmanteau is a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, like "motel", which is the combination of mobile and hotel, or brunch, which combines breakfast and lunch. Well, the story of Garmin’s name is somewhere along those lines.

This popular GPS brand’s name is a portmanteau that combines the names of the two company’s founders: Gary Burrell and Dr. Min Kao (Gar-min). It might sound like a bit of a lazy strategy for naming such an important company but, in the end, it worked.

Image: Alexas_Fotos

The second portmanteau on this list corresponds to another odd name: Haribo. One of the world’s best-known sweets brand’s name is a mash-up between the company’s founder and its headquarters. Hans Riegel is the man who founded the company and Bonn is Haribo’s hometown.

Some people even go as far as saying that the name reminds them of an Asian confectionery of some kind, but, as we know now, its origins are very much European because there are not many names as German as Hans, right?

Image: WikimediaImages

The third and final portmanteau on this list corresponds to another hugely popular company that manufactures the beloved Oreo cookies. The National Biscuit Company transformed its name into a mash-up of its old name: Na-Bis-Co.

The first use of the name Nabisco was in a cracker brand produced by the National Biscuit Company in 1901 and maybe it is because we have heard and read this name so much and it has become a household word but Nabisco does sound like a cookie or at least, a food company, doesn’t it?

Image: Dylan Ferreira

As it is common knowledge, Europeans make great ice cream. Therefore, a complicated and European-sounding name can be aptly associated with delicious ice cream, right? Reuben and Rose Mattus thought exactly that in the 1960s, as they wanted their business name to convey an aura of tradition and craftsmanship.

Häagen-Dazs is an invented pseudo-Scandinavian phrase coined in a quest for a brand name that sounded Danish. However, the company's pronunciation of the name ignores the letters "ä" and "s", and letters like "ä" or digraphs like "zs" do not exist in the Danish language.