No, not the politicians. I'm talking about words this time. Here are some words, courtesy of Wordsmith.org, known as fence-sitters (or self-antonyms, contranyms, janus words) because they can mean one thing or its opposite. Words with dual personalities include:
Sanction (approve and disapprove); oversight (watchful care and error or omission); tabled (brought forward for discussion and being laid aside); and cleave (split or divide and stick or cling).
Thankfully the context usually provides a clue as to which of the contradictory senses is appropriate in that situation.
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