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Anekarthi Shabd (अनेकार्थी शब्द)
About 6 min · General Hindi (सामान्य हिंदी) · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 349 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Anekarthi Shabd refers to Hindi words that carry multiple meanings depending on the context in which they are used. The term literally means "words with many meanings" (अनेक = many, अर्थी = meanings). Unlike synonyms (which are different words with similar meanings) or homonyms (which sound alike but have different origins), anekarthi words are single words whose meaning shifts based on sentence context, grammatical usage, or the domain of discourse.
Key ideas
- Context determines meaning: The same word can function as a noun in one sentence and convey an entirely different concept in another based on surrounding words, grammatical structure, and subject matter.
- Single spelling, multiple senses: Unlike homophones (which sound same but spell differently), anekarthi words maintain identical spelling and pronunciation across all meanings — only semantic interpretation changes.
- Common exam pattern: Questions typically present 3-4 meanings and ask which meanings are valid for a given word, or provide sentences using the word differently and test comprehension.
- Domain-specific meanings: Many anekarthi words have everyday meanings plus specialized meanings in literature, philosophy, religion, or technical contexts (e.g., "अर्थ" means both "meaning" and "wealth").
- No etymological connection required: The multiple meanings may or may not be historically related; what matters for exam purposes is recognition and correct contextual application.
Quick reference
- अर्थ = meaning / wealth; काल = time / death / tense / black
- गो = cow / earth / speech; वर = boon / groom / excellent
- अंबर = sky / cloth; अंक = number / lap / chapter / mark
- पत्र = letter / leaf; हार = garland / defeat
- वर्ण = alphabet letter / color / caste; कर = hand / tax / ray
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. निम्नलिखित में से 'पत्र' शब्द का कौन सा अर्थ सही नहीं है?
2. 'अर्थ' शब्द के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित में से कौन सा कथन असत्य है?
3. वाक्य 'उसने अपनी माँ को अपना हार दिखाया' में 'हार' शब्द का क्या अर्थ है?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 18 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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