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There's no confusion. The two senses of the word don't overlap; they can be used unambiguously in their own contexts.

Unless you think people are also "confusing" things when they say "I like my coffee sweet" and "What a sweet little girl"--?

Or, I don't know, the ringing of a bell and the ring on your finger? Or a flat object, a flat note, and a flat for rent?

This is how language works. Not just English, not just a language. All language. Remember Wittgenstein: "Let the use of words teach you their meaning" (PI 220).




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