Words with Many Meanings and Near-Homophones
Words with Many Meanings and Near-Homophones
This area supplies two questions and it is where the largest number of marks are lost. The reason is that the options are deliberately kept close in sound, so the answer comes only from a fine grasp of meaning rather than from recognition of the word.
Near-Homophones
Words that sound almost alike but differ in meaning are called shrutisambhinnarthak. Questions in this area are built almost entirely from such pairs.
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| अनल | fire | अनिल | air |
| कुल | lineage | कूल | bank of a river |
| दिन | day | दीन | poor |
| समान | equal | सामान | goods |
| परिणाम | result | परिमाण | quantity |
| ग्रह | planet | गृह | house |
The pair अनल and अनिल is asked most often — अनल is fire and अनिल is air. In the same way परिणाम is a result and परिमाण is a quantity. A single vowel mark changes the whole meaning.
✗ कूल means lineage | ✓ कूल means the bank of a river; the word for lineage is कुल
More Important Pairs
- अंश means a part, अंस means a shoulder.
- चिर means a long time, चीर means cloth.
- शुक्ल means white, शुल्क means a fee.
- प्रसाद means grace, प्रासाद means a palace.
- बात means an utterance, वात means air.
Words with Many Meanings
Words that carry more than one meaning are called anekarthi. Here the question usually asks in which sense the word has been used in a given sentence.
| Word | Meanings |
|---|---|
| कर | hand, tax, ray |
| अर्थ | wealth, meaning, purpose |
| हरि | Vishnu, lion, sun, monkey |
| काल | time, death, famine |
| वर्ण | letter, colour, class |
There is a basic difference between the two categories and it is tested directly. In anekarthi the word stays the same and the meanings are many; in shrutisam the words are different but sound alike. कर is one word with three meanings, so it is anekarthi. ग्रह and गृह are two different words, so they are shrutisam.
परीक्षा में विधि यह रखिए: पहले शब्द को वाक्य में रखकर पढ़िए, फिर तय कीजिए कि कौन-सा अर्थ वाक्य में बैठता है। अकेले शब्द को देखकर अर्थ चुनना गलती की सबसे बड़ी वजह है।
TRE pointer: Four pairs come up most often — अनल-अनिल, परिणाम-परिमाण, ग्रह-गृह and शुक्ल-शुल्क — so fix these first. Among anekarthi words, कर, अर्थ, हरि and काल are near certainties. With negative marking, haste is costliest here, so always place the word in the sentence before choosing.
60-Second Recap
- Near-homophones sound alike but differ in meaning.
- अनल is fire and अनिल is air.
- परिणाम is a result and परिमाण is a quantity.
- ग्रह is a planet and गृह is a house.
- Anekarthi words such as कर, अर्थ, हरि and काल carry several meanings.
- Always settle the meaning by placing the word in the sentence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are shrutisambhinnarthak words?
Words that sound almost the same but carry different meanings. अनल and अनिल, कुल and कूल, and दिन and दीन are examples. Usually a single vowel mark or letter separates them, and that small difference changes the meaning completely, which is exactly why examiners build questions around them.
What is the difference between परिणाम and परिमाण?
परिणाम means a result or outcome, as in the result of an examination. परिमाण means a quantity or measure, as in the quantity of water. Only one letter separates them, so the two are regularly placed side by side among the options.
How should a question on anekarthi words be answered?
Place the word inside the given sentence and see which meaning fits the sense. कर can mean a hand, a tax or a ray, but only the sentence decides which one is intended. Choosing from the word alone, without reading the sentence, is the commonest cause of error.
How many meanings does हरि have?
Four principal ones — Vishnu, lion, sun and monkey. It is the most frequently asked anekarthi word in Hindi, so all four meanings should be held together. Only the context of the sentence leads to the meaning intended in a given question.