目 is a bound morpheme (cannot stand alone as a word in modern Mandarin) and appears in many formal or compound words. It has three main semantic domains: the eye (目光 'gaze', 目前 'at present' — literally 'before the eyes'), items or categories (目录 'catalog', 项目 'project/item'), and literary/abstract meanings of looking or regarding (目睹 'witness', 目标 'goal'). When you encounter 目 in a compound, the surrounding context determines which sense is active.