play vs take

play

verb
  • To act or perform (a play). 

  • To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless. 

  • Contrary to fact, to give an appearance of being. 

  • To be performed; (or of a film) to be shown. 

  • To manipulate, deceive, or swindle someone. 

  • To move to and fro. 

  • To produce music (or a specified song or musical style) using (a specified musical instrument). 

  • To compete against, in a game. 

  • To act; to behave; to practice deception. 

  • To perform in or at; to give performances in or at. 

  • To produce music using a musical instrument. 

  • To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate. 

  • To take part in amorous activity; to make love. 

  • To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game). 

  • To kid; to joke; say something for amusement. 

  • (in the scoring of games and sports) To be the opposing score to. 

  • To gamble. 

  • To act as the indicated role, especially in a performance. 

  • To produce music. 

  • To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute. 

  • To put in action or motion. 

  • To keep in play, as a hooked fish in order to land it. 

  • To use a device to watch or listen to the indicated recording. 

  • To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment. 

noun
  • A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources. 

  • An instance of watching or listening to digital media. 

  • The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely, as for example lash, backlash, or slack. 

  • Movement (of a pattern of light etc.) 

  • An individual's performance in a sport or game. 

  • A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue. 

  • A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played. 

  • Activity for amusement only, especially among the young. 

  • Similar activity in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills. 

  • An attempt to move forward, as in a plan or strategy, for example by a business, investor, or political party. 

  • Sexual activity or sexual role-playing. 

  • The conduct, or course, of a game. 

  • A short sequence of action within a game. 

  • An action carried out when it is one's turn to play. 

  • A theatrical performance featuring actors. 

take

verb
  • To perform (a role). 

  • To accept (zero or more arguments). 

  • To seize or capture. 

  • To remove. 

  • To go. 

  • To become; to be affected in a specified way. 

  • To obtain money from, especially by swindling. 

  • To catch the ball; especially as a wicket-keeper and after the batsman has missed or edged it. 

  • To receive or accept (something) (especially something given or bestowed, awarded, etc). 

  • To proceed to fill. 

  • To participate in. 

  • To let in (water). 

  • To move into. 

  • To catch or get possession of (fish or game). 

  • To assume (a form). 

  • To go into, through, or along. 

  • To apply oneself to the study of. 

  • To deal with. 

  • To begin to grow after being grafted or planted; to (literally or figuratively) take root, take hold. 

  • To capture or win (a piece or trick) in a game. 

  • To have sex with. 

  • To accept or be given (rightly or wrongly); assume (especially as if by right). 

  • To obtain for use by payment or lease. 

  • To experience or feel. 

  • To receive or accept (something) as payment or compensation. 

  • To carry or lead (something or someone). 

  • To suffer; to endure (a hardship or damage). 

  • An intensifier. 

  • To require. 

  • To fill, to use up (time or space). 

  • To avail oneself of. 

  • To escort or conduct (a person). 

  • To catch or contract (an illness, etc). 

  • To receive into some relationship. 

  • To assume or suppose; to reckon; to regard or consider. 

  • To catch; to engage. 

  • To grasp or grip. 

  • To transport or carry; to convey to another place. 

  • To submit to; to endure (without ill humor, resentment, or physical failure). 

  • To exact. 

  • To receive or acquire (property) by law (e.g. as an heir). 

  • To remove or end by death; to kill. 

  • To captivate or charm; to gain or secure the interest or affection of. 

  • To believe, to accept the statements of. 

  • To cause to change to a specified state or condition. 

  • To lead (to a place); to serve as a means of reaching. 

  • To subtract. 

  • To bind oneself by. 

  • To undergo; to put oneself into, to be subjected to. 

  • To partake of (food or drink); to consume. 

  • To make (a photograph, film, or other reproduction of something). 

  • To assume and undertake the duties of (a job, an office, etc). 

  • To write down; to get in, or as if in, writing. 

  • To come upon or catch (in a particular state or situation). 

  • To appropriate or transfer into one's own possession, sometimes by physically carrying off. 

  • To accept and follow (advice, etc). 

  • To use as a means of transportation. 

  • To admit (a penis or the penis of) into one’s bodily cavity. 

  • To obtain or receive regularly by (paid) subscription. 

  • To conclude or form (a decision or an opinion) in the mind. 

  • To select or choose; to pick. 

  • To derive (as a title); to obtain from a source. 

  • To practice; perform; execute; carry out; do. 

  • To decline to swing at (a pitched ball); to refrain from hitting at, and allow to pass. 

  • To get or accept (something) into one's possession. 

  • To get into one's hands, possession, or control, with or without force. 

  • To draw, derive, or deduce (a meaning from something). 

  • To ascertain or determine by measurement, examination or inquiry. 

  • To receive (medicine) into one's body, e.g. by inhalation or swallowing; to ingest. 

  • To have the intended effect. 

  • To regard in a specified way. 

  • To absorb or be impregnated by (dye, ink, etc); to be susceptible to being treated by (polish, etc). 

  • To adopt (select) as one's own. 

  • To consider in a particular way, or to consider as an example. 

  • To pass (or attempt to pass) through or around. 

  • To defeat (someone or something) in a fight. 

  • To adhere or be absorbed properly. 

  • To have to be used with (a certain grammatical form, etc). 

  • To understand (especially in a specified way). 

  • To have and use one's recourse to. 

noun
  • A visible (facial) response to something, especially something unexpected; a facial gesture in response to an event. 

  • An approach, a (distinct) treatment. 

  • An interpretation or view, opinion or assessment; perspective; a statement expressing such a position. 

  • A scene recorded (filmed) at one time, without an interruption or break; a recording of such a scene. 

  • A recording of a musical performance made during an uninterrupted single recording period. 

  • An instance of successful inoculation/vaccination. 

  • The or an act of taking. 

  • A catch of the ball (in cricket, especially one by the wicket-keeper). 

  • The quantity of copy given to a compositor at one time. 

  • Money that is taken in, (legal or illegal) proceeds, income; (in particular) profits. 

  • The or a quantity of fish, game animals or pelts, etc which have been taken at one time; catch. 

How often have the words play and take occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )