(1) He had finally achieved success.
(2) They could not achieve their target of less than 3% inflation.
(3) I haven't achieved very much today.

(1) The room was in a mess .
(2) The kids made a mess in the bathroom.
(3) ‘ What a mess ! ’ she said, surveying the scene after the party.

(1) One said he could not see anything except the blue of the sky.
(2) That kind of money is no longer going about now.
(3) no longer trammel by his responsibility as chairman, he can say what he wish.

(1) a sleepy child
(2) He had begun to feel sleepy.
(3) The heat and the wine made her sleepy.

(1) I just called in for a chat.
(2) I had a long chat with her.
(3) That's enough chat from me─on with the music!

(1) I still love you even though I'd like to wring your neck.
(2) even though I'm quite a reserved person, I like meeting people.
(3) even though we split up she was blooming marvellous.

(1) It happened─whether by accident or design ─that the two of them were left alone after all the others had gone.
(2) The tiles come in a huge range of colours and designs.
(3) a course in art and design

(1) gummed labels (= with glue on one side)
(2) A large address label was gummed to the package.
(3) fruit gums

(1) a silly idea
(2) That was a silly thing to do !
(3) Her work is full of silly mistakes.

(1) The bottom line is that we have to make a decision today.
(2) We can't make a decision based on hearsay and guesswork.
(3) Think over the matter and then make a decision.

(1) The arrow pierced his shoulder.
(2) He pierced another hole in his belt with his knife.
(3) to have your ears/nose, etc. pierced (= to have a small hole made in your ears/nose so that you can wear jewellery there)

(1) go to sleep. I've got a long day tomorrow.
(2) I told them to be quiet and go to sleep.
(3) Be quiet and go to sleep.

(1) I know exactly how she felt.
(2) Do exactly as I tell you.
(3) It happened almost exactly a year ago.

(1) "You're standing in the way," she said. "Would you mind moving aside"
(2) We are together in the way we're looking at this situation.
(3) I don't see any vast turnarounds in the way we do business.

(1) He brimmed a glass of beer and offered it to me.
(2) I don't need the dictionary at present.
(3) No more workers are being taken on at present.

(1) He was very aware of his own importance (= of his status) .
(2) State your reasons in order of importance .
(3) the relative importance of the two ideas

(1) Our head teacher always carries a briefcase under his arm.
(2) The head teacher praised the janitor in the weekly assembly.
(3) It is requested that our head teacher ( B. give ) speech at tomorrows meeting.

(1) a pair of earrings
(2) Throw some light on this corner to see if the lost earring is there.
(3) Our product including Tiffany bracelet, cuff links, earring, Gucci product key ring, necklace and ring.

(1) They charge a daily rate.
(2) The machines are inspected twice daily.
(3) The story was in all the dailies.

(1) He has the house to himself during the week.
(2) He managed to repair the car by himself.
(3) He lives all by himself.

(1) The country experienced a foreign currency shortage for several months.
(2) We lost a lot of money, but we just put it down to experience.
(3) experience has taught me that life can be very unfair.

(1) (British English)to take a decision (= to decide)
(2) to make a decision (= to decide)
(3) We need a decision on this by next week.

(1) The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US.
(2) (British English)licensing hours (= the times when alcohol can be sold at a pub, etc.)
(3) They had licensed the firm to produce the drug.

(1) a local farmer
(2) A local man was accused of the murder.
(3) Our children go to the local school.

(1) Coastguards had given up all hope of finding the two divers alive.
(2) ...smokers who give up before 30.
(3) After a fruitless morning sitting at his desk he had given up.

(1) He has brought much of the present crisis on himself...
(2) ...the government's present economic difficulties...
(3) ...his struggle to reconcile the past with the present.

(1) I used to live in London.
(2) We used to go sailing on the lake in summer.
(3) I didn't use to like him much when we were at school.

(1) to obey a command/an order/rules/the law
(2) He had always obeyed his parents without question.
(3) ‘Sit down! ’ Meekly, she obeyed.

(1) We just had soup instead of a full meal.
(2) Now I can walk to work instead of going by car.
(3) Interfaces describe a set of functionality, or a contract.

(1) medical/patient care
(2) 'But we might ruin the stove.' — 'Who cares?'
(3) Who cares about some stupid vacation?...

(1) a member of staff/society/the family
(2) characteristics common to all members of the species
(3) party/union members

(1) The dog was chewing on a bone.
(2) to chew your nails
(3) After the operation you may find it difficult to chew and swallow.

(1) I think we should concentrate on one or two of the really big tournaments.
(2) We should not just concentrate on one thing to the neglect of everything else.
(3) I wish you'd concentrate on what I'm saying.

(1) Besides, I will help the old people from the old people's home.
(2) Covering beds in enough pillows to suffocate an entire old people's home.
(3) Let's [ invite her to ] go to old people's home with us.

(1) jams made with fruit juice concentrate
(2) mineral concentrates found at the bottom of rivers
(3) In this lecture I shall concentrate on the early years of Charles's reign.

(1) We take pride in offering you the highest standards.
(2) I take pride in running with these great men.
(3) Annie: take pride in what you do?

(1) He is sitting beside her on the sofa...
(2) on top of the cupboards are vast straw baskets which Pat uses for dried flower arrangements...
(3) I admired the peeling paint on the ceiling...

(1) Cannot, I will not care about any idle talk, will complete oneself duty.
(2) You care about each other, you cherish freedom, you treasure justice, and you seek truth.
(3) I really care about the students in my class.

(1) The organization now has around 18,000 members who receive a quarterly newsletter.
(2) In charge of SJCF quarterly newsletter.
(3) Example ads can viewed via the newsletter archive.

(1) in the end I just couldn't kick Jimmy when he was down.
(2) They prefer, in the end, to stick with what they know.
(3) in the end only three points separated the two teams.