This paper advances the hypothesis that lexical semantics is handled through two different kinds of processes. The first deals with basic categorization while the second deals with words meaning in context. In order to distinguish the two processes I attempt to clarify what it means for humans to be motivated by the context, rather than just by perception, when naming. I argue that the role of the context in comprehension and production of words must be accounted for through a specific capacity whose goal is to manage social interactions.