Expressions such as “I saw the rose,” “I smelled ambergris,” “I tasted sweetness,” and “I touched silk” show a useful point: ordinary speech may name an object when a particular perceivable feature is intended, or refer to the object itself.
The relevant likeness may concern colour in a cheek–rose comparison, but smell in an ambergris comparison. Since language often shifts between a thing and its characteristic property, identifying the sense from one noun alone can be misleading.
The intended quality is determined by wording and context together.