Where the intended meaning of a multiple-meaning word is not clear from context, ambiguities can be resolved by modifiers. For example, in this course the word "value" will be used in several senses, which we can distinguish as "objective value," "subjective value," "monetary value," and so on. All of these senses refer to objectively observable attributes of the units involved in human action, and the differences in kind among them need to be acknowledged in order to develop a full understanding of the subject. These distinct senses are not all clearly recognized in Rand's writings, however, and the nomenclature presented here will accordingly depart from that of many Objectivist scholars.

A single word may appear within several alternative linguistic constructions, while presenting the same basic philosophical meaning. Most obviously, a word may be used for more than one part of speech. "Human," for example, may function as a noun ("a rational animal") or an adjective ("of or pertaining to rational animals").