我们知道，双关可以使语言含蓄、幽默、风趣、婉转、生动、耐人寻味，适合于表达含蓄、曲折的思想，在一定场合可以用于讽刺和揭露，能加深语意，给人以深刻的印象。由于种种原因有些话不便明说直讲，用双关手法表达可取得理想的效果。前面讲到的谐音双关是汉英共有的双关语类别，而语义双关则不同。

语义双关又名“借义双关”、“彼此双关”、“对象双关”，是利用词语的多义性(除本义之外，还有比喻义、引申义等）构成的。这种双关通常不只是一个词，一个句子，而是几个句子，甚至整首诗、整段话都是双关，利用音、形、义都能关涉两种事物的语句，借眼前的事物来表达自己真正的意思。

英语中除谐音双关（利用同音异义词[homophone]构成）之外的另一种双关叫词义双关(利用同形异义词[homonym]构成），试举—例（范家材1992: 187—188)如下，以区分语义双关和词义双关的不同特点：

例：I finally figured out how government works. The Senate gets the bill from the House, The President gets the bill from the Senate. And we get the bill for everything. (Reader's Digest，p.220 Feb.l991)(参考译文：我终于弄懂了我们的政体是如何运行的。议会的提案由众议院转到参议院再从参议院转到总统。于是轮到我们支付一切账单。）

该例中的前两个bill指议会提案，第三个bill指账单，从而构成双关。由此可见，词义双关是利用同形异义词，紧扣双重情境，以造成诙谐等效果的修辞格。其翻译的难度是显而易见的。

下面，我们来分析语义双关及其翻译：

宝钗笑道：“宝兄弟，亏你每日家杂学旁收的，难道就不知道酒性最热，若热吃下去，发散的就快，若冷吃下去，便凝结在内，以五脏去暖他，岂不受害？从此还不快不要吃那冷的了。”宝玉听这话有情理，便放下冷酒，命人暖来方饮。

黛玉磕着瓜子儿，只抿着嘴笑。可巧黛玉的小丫鬟雪雁走来与黛玉送小手炉，黛玉因含笑问他：“谁叫你送来的？难为他费心，那里就冷死了我！”雪雁道：“紫鹃姐姐怕姑娘冷，使我送来的。”黛玉一面接了，抱在怀中，笑道也亏你倒听他的话。我平日和你说的,全当耳旁风，怎么他说了你就依，比圣旨还快些！ ”宝玉听这话，知是黛玉借此奚落他，也无回复之词，只嘻嘻的笑两阵罢了。（第八回）

杨译：

“Brother Bao，”put in Baochai teasingly，” “You've the chance every day to acquire miscellaneous knowledge. How come you don't realize how heating wine is? Drunk hot，its fumes dissipate quickly; drunk cold，it stays in your system and absorbs heat from your vital organs. That's bad for you. So do stop drinking cold wine. ”

Since this made sense，Baoyu put dawn the wine asked to have it warmed.Daiyu had been smiling rather cryptically as she cracked melon-seeds. Now her maid Xueyan brought in her little hand-stove.

“Who told you to bring this?”demanded Daiyu. “Many thanks. Think I was freezing to death here!”

“Zijuan was afraid you might be cold，miss，so she asked me to bring it over. ”

Nursing the stove in her arms Daiyu retorted，“So you do whatever she asks，but let whatever I say in one ear and out the other. You jump to obey her instructions faster than if they were an Imperial edict.”

Although Baoyu knew these remarks were aimed at him，his only reply was to chuckle.