90 Examples of How to Use a Contronym in a Sentence

Have you ever seen a word that means two opposite things? That kind of word is called a contronym — or sometimes a Janus word.

A contronym is tricky because it can mean one thing in one sentence and the complete opposite in another. The only way to know the meaning is by looking at the context – the words around it.

Let’s explore 90 examples with simple explanations and sentences you can understand easily.

What Is a Contronym?

A contronym is a single word with two opposite meanings.
For example:

• “Dust” can mean to remove dust — “She dusted the table.”
  But it can also mean to add dust or powder — “He dusted the cake with sugar.”

Crazy, right?
English can be confusing, but learning contronyms will make you sound smarter and more confident.

90 Contronym Examples with Sentences

Below are 90 words that act as contronyms, each with two meanings and clear example sentences.

No.	Contronym	Meaning 1	Example (Meaning 1)	Meaning 2	Example (Meaning 2)
1	Apology	Expression of regret	I made an apology for my mistake.	Defense or justification	His apology of the plan sounded weak.
2	Dust	Remove dust	She dusted the shelf.	Add fine powder	He dusted sugar on the cake.
3	Fast	Quick, speedy	The car moves fast.	Fixed, unmoving	The boat is held fast by the rope.
4	Bound	Going somewhere	She is bound for London.	Tied up, unable to move	The prisoner was bound with rope.
5	Buckle	To fasten	Please buckle your seatbelt.	To collapse	The bridge buckled under pressure.
6	Clip	Attach	Clip the papers together.	Cut off	She clipped her nails short.
7	Cleave	Split apart	He cleaved the wood.	Stick together	The baby cleaved to his mother.
8	Sanction	Approve	The law sanctions this action.	Penalize	The UN sanctioned the country.
9	Overlook	Supervise	She was asked to overlook the event.	Miss, fail to see	He overlooked the spelling error.
10	Screen	Show a movie	The cinema screened the film.	Hide or block	Trees screened the house from view.
11	Seed	Plant seeds	Farmers seed the field in spring.	Remove seeds	She seeded the watermelon.
12	Trim	Decorate	They trimmed the Christmas tree.	Cut off	He trimmed the edges of the paper.
13	Weather	Withstand	The wall weathered the storm.	Wear away	The rocks were weathered by rain.
14	Left	Departed	She left the room.	Remaining	Only two students are left.
15	Stone	Throw stones at	They stoned the wall.	Remove stones	She stoned the cherries.
16	Clip	Attach	I clipped a badge to my shirt.	Detach	The bird’s wings were clipped.
17	Model	To copy	The student modeled the teacher’s style.	To serve as an example	She modeled kindness for others.
18	Consult	To seek advice	I consulted the doctor.	To give advice	The expert consulted the client.
19	Trimmed	Decorated	The cake was trimmed with cream.	Cut off	He trimmed the grass.
20	Custom	Tradition	It’s our custom to visit parents on holidays.	Made to order	He wore a custom suit.
21	Hold up	Support	The pillars hold up the roof.	Delay	The traffic held up our trip.
22	Dusty	Covered with dust	The old book was dusty.	Sprinkled (lightly coated)	She baked a dusty chocolate cake.
23	Handicap	Obstacle	The injury was a handicap.	Advantage (in golf)	He started with a five-stroke handicap.
24	Left	Gone	He left early.	Remaining	One cookie is left.
25	Lease	Rent from	I lease a car from the company.	Rent to	The company leases cars to workers.
26	Off	Deactivated	Turn the light off.	Activated	The alarm went off.
27	Out	Visible	The stars are out tonight.	Extinguished	The fire is out.
28	Peer	Person of equal rank	She discussed ideas with her peers.	A noble	The peer entered the chamber.
29	Peruse	Read carefully	I perused the report.	Skim quickly	He perused the brochure before buying.
30	Present	Give	I presented her a gift.	Show or display	He will present his research.
31	Quite	Completely	The food was quite delicious.	Somewhat	The movie was quite good.
32	Refrain	Avoid doing	Please refrain from talking.	Repeat regularly	The poet refrained his line.
33	Rent	To pay for use	I rent this house.	To tear	The cloth was rent in two.
34	Rock	Move gently	She rocked the baby to sleep.	Shake violently	The earthquake rocked the city.
35	Seeded	Planted	The field was seeded in March.	De-seeded	She seeded the chili peppers.
36	Sick	Ill	He feels sick today.	Cool, amazing (slang)	That was a sick dance move!
37	Skin	Cover	He skinned the drum.	Remove skin	She skinned the potatoes.
38	Strike	Hit	The player struck the ball.	Miss (baseball)	It’s strike three!
39	Transparent	Clear, obvious	Her lies were transparent.	Invisible	The glass is transparent.
40	Trim	Add decorations	They trimmed the tree.	Cut down	He trimmed the hedge.
41	Variety	Many types	There’s a variety of fruits.	One type of a kind	A new variety of rose was planted.
42	Weathered	Survived	The company weathered the crisis.	Eroded	The statue was weathered by wind.
43	Wind up	Start	Wind up the toy.	Finish	Let’s wind up the meeting.
44	Consult	Seek advice	I consulted my teacher.	Offer advice	The expert consulted the firm.
45	Seed	Scatter seeds	He seeded the land.	Remove seeds	She seeded the apple.
46	Clip	Cut	He clipped his hair.	Attach	I clipped my ID badge on.
47	Screen	Protect	The wall screened the garden.	Show	The theater screened a new film.
48	Left	Gone	He left the class.	Remaining	Only one person left.
49	Finished	Completed	I finished my homework.	Ruined	He’s finished after that loss.
50	Go off	Explode	The bomb went off.	Stop working	The light went off suddenly.
51	Lease	Rent from	I lease this flat.	Rent to	He leases apartments to families.
52	Oversight	Supervision	The project was under her oversight.	Mistake	It was just an oversight.
53	Fix	Repair	I fixed the chair.	Make firm or still	The hunter fixed his eyes on the deer.
54	Off	Deactivated	Turn off the AC.	Activated	The alarm went off at night.
55	Out	Visible	The flowers are out.	Extinguished	The candle is out.
56	Rock	Move back and forth	She rocked the cradle.	Shake violently	The wind rocked the trees.
57	Weather	Survive	We weathered the hard times.	Worn away	The walls weathered over the years.
58	Wind	Twist	Wind the clock.	Unwind	The path winds through the forest.
59	Bathe	To wash	I bathed the baby.	To soak (something else)	The field was bathed in sunlight.
60	Clip	Attach	Clip this on your bag.	Cut	He clipped the ribbon.
61	Custom	Habit	It’s custom to greet elders.	Personalized	I ordered a custom jacket.
62	Execute	Carry out	Execute the plan.	Kill	The prisoner was executed.
63	Fine	Good	You look fine today.	Penalty	He paid a fine for speeding.
64	Fix	Repair	I fixed my phone.	Attach firmly	He fixed his eyes on me.
65	Go down	Decrease	Prices went down.	Happen	The show went down yesterday.
66	Hold up	Support	The beams hold up the ceiling.	Delay	The train was held up.
67	Inflammable	Can burn easily	Gas is inflammable.	Not able to burn (rare use)	This fabric is inflammable.
68	Lease	Rent from	We lease cars.	Rent to	They lease cars to drivers.
69	Left	Remaining	Few tickets left.	Departed	He left early.
70	Mean	Unkind	She’s mean to me.	Average	The mean score was 80.
71	Off	Canceled	The event is off.	Started	The race is off!
72	Out	Visible	The moon is out.	Extinguished	The light is out.
73	Oversight	Careful management	He had oversight of the team.	Mistake	It was a simple oversight.
74	Peruse	Read carefully	I perused the book.	Skim quickly	She perused the file.
75	Rock	Soothe	She rocked the child.	Shake	The explosion rocked the building.
76	Root	Cheer for	I’m rooting for you.	Pull up	He rooted out weeds.
77	Seed	Sow	Seed the lawn.	Remove seeds	Seed the grapes.
78	Skin	Cover	The drum was skinned.	Remove skin	Skin the fish.
79	Stone	Remove stones	Stone the fruit.	Throw stones	They stoned the wall.
80	Strike	Hit	He struck the ball.	Miss	Strike one!
81	Trip	Journey	We took a trip.	Stumble	He tripped on the rug.
82	Trim	Add decoration	The dress was trimmed with lace.	Cut	Trim your hair.
83	Weather	Survive	We weathered the storm.	Wear away	The roof weathered.
84	Wind	Turn	Wind the toy.	Wrap	The road winds through hills.
85	Consult	Ask advice	I consulted my friend.	Give advice	The doctor consulted the patient.
86	Model	Copy	She modeled his behavior.	Demonstrate	He modeled honesty.
87	Oversight	Manage	She has oversight of operations.	Miss	It was an oversight.
88	Bound	Going	The train is bound for Paris.	Tied	His hands were bound.
89	Lease	Rent from	I lease a bike.	Rent to	They lease bikes to riders.
90	Screen	Show	The channel screened a movie.	Hide	Curtains screened the view.

Read More: 100 Sentences With The Word Her – a Common Pronoun

How to Master Contronyms

1. Always check the context – The meaning depends on how it’s used.
2. Learn through examples – Reading sentences like these helps you remember.
3. Practice writing your own – Try using each contronym in two different ways.
4. Stay curious – English loves words with double meanings!

Final Thoughts

Contronyms show how flexible and funny the English language can be.
The same word can mean to add or to remove, to move fast or to stay still.

Next time you hear one, stop and think:

“Which meaning fits this sentence?”

That’s how you grow as an English learner — one word at a time.