(1) He licked his fingers.
(2) I'm tired of licking envelopes.
(3) The cat sat licking its paws.

(1) She fell over and swore loudly.
(2) Why did you let him swear at you like that?
(3) He swore revenge on the man who had killed his father.

(1) She inherited a fortune from her father.
(2) He has inherited his mother's patience.
(3) an inherited disease

(1) the rinse cycle (= in a washing machine)
(2) I usually cycle home through the park.
(3) We went for a cycle ride on Sunday.

(1) She's not very optimistic about the outcome of the talks.
(2) They are cautiously optimistic that the reforms will take place.
(3) We are now taking a more optimistic view.

(1) an electrical fault in the engine
(2) electrical equipment/appliances
(3) electrical power/energy

(1) a long/short/straight/pleated, etc. skirt
(2) the rubber skirt around the bottom of a hovercraft
(3) They followed the road that skirted the lake.

(1) a nasty accident
(2) The news gave me a nasty shock.
(3) I had a nasty feeling that he would follow me.

(1) He was economical in all areas of his life.
(2) an economical car to run (= one that does not use too much petrol/gas)
(3) It would be more economical to buy the bigger size.

(1) a cotton mill
(2) sewing cotton
(3) a cotton reel

(1) She tried desperately to engage him in conversation .
(2) It is a movie that engages both the mind and the eye.
(3) He is currently engaged as a consultant.

(1) lord Beaverbrook
(2) the lord Chancellor
(3) the lord Mayor

(1) an educational/financial, etc. institution
(2) the Smithsonian institution
(3) a mental institution

(1) to roast a chicken
(2) the smell of roasting meat
(3) roasted chestnuts

(1) He ran around the corner, cannoning into a group of kids.
(2) One of the reporters cannoned into Arnold...
(3) The ball cannoned off the back of a Spartak defender and into the net.

(1) Liz settled back in her seat, comfortably relaxed, enjoying being driven for a change.
(2) Now let me ask you a question, for a change...
(3) The courier had change for a £10 note.

(1) technical drawing
(2) a pencil/charcoal drawing
(3) a drawing of a yacht

(1) It gives me great pleasure to welcome you here today.
(2) Her death was a great shock to us all.
(3) a matter of great importance

(1) address your application to the Personnel Manager.
(2) to address a meeting
(3) I was surprised when he addressed me in English.

(1) That's cheating in my book.
(2) She always does everything by the book.
(3) I'm in her good books at the moment because I cleared up the kitchen.

(1) The poem humorously describes local characters and traditions.
(2) He had a wide mouth and humorous grey eyes.
(3) He gave a humorous account of their trip to Spain.

(1) writers of poetry
(2) a travel/cookery, etc. writer
(3) the writer of this letter

(1) Please be polite to our guests.
(2) We were all too polite to object.
(3) I don't know how to make polite conversation .

(1) There are excellent facilities for sport and recreation.
(2) I'm not interested in sport.
(3) the use of drugs in sport

(1) a lumber room (= for storing lumber in)
(2) A family of elephants lumbered by.
(3) When our parents went out, my sister got lumbered with me for the evening.

(1) a wedding feast
(2) the feast of Christmas
(3) a feast day

(1) Heavy drinking can cause permanent damage to the brain...
(2) ...a permanent solution to the problem...
(3) ...a permanent state of tension...

(1) The news has certainly excited comment (= made people talk about it) .
(2) to excite attention/criticism/curiosity
(3) The prospect of a year in India greatly excited her.

(1) a football/baseball, etc. team
(2) a team event (= one played by groups of people rather than individual players)
(3) (British English)Whose team are you in?

(1) He said he had not discussed the matter with her. furthermore, he had not even contacted her.
(2) furthermore, they claim that any such interference is completely ineffective.
(3) furthermore, some animals have feet and are destitute thereof.

(1) He nodded mechanically, his eyes fixed on the girl.
(2) The air was circulated mechanically.
(3) The car was mechanically sound, he decided.

(1) The fire was banked up as high as if it were midwinter.
(2) It's on the north bank of the Thames.
(3) a house on the banks of the River Severn (= on land near the river)

(1) lettuce/cabbage/oak leaves
(2) The trees are just coming into leaf .
(3) the dead leaves of autumn/the fall

(1) to offer/send your congratulations to sb
(2) ‘We're getting married! ’ ‘congratulations! ’
(3) congratulations on your exam results!

(1) She was the last surviving member of the family.
(2) Of the six people injured in the crash, only two survived.
(3) Some strange customs have survived from earlier times.

(1) an efficient secretary
(2) efficient heating equipment
(3) the efficient use of energy

(1) We thoroughly enjoyed our time in New York.
(2) Thanks for a great evening. I really enjoyed it .
(3) I enjoy playing tennis and squash.

(1) How you can be so insensitive absolutely beats me.
(2) beat it before it's too late.
(3) Can you beat it; there was Graham Greene in Freetown and there was I on the other side of Africa.

(1) We are constantly fed gossip and speculation by the media.
(2) The baby can't feed itself yet (= can't put food into its own mouth) .
(3) The cattle are fed on barley.

(1) a fast car/horse
(2) the world's fastest runner
(3) the fastest rate of increase for years