1to use anywhere, anytime (card, ticket etc)
2to be used by everyone (language, textbook etc)
3(of two or more things) interchangeable
Examples
yīng yǔ英语shì是hěn很duō多guó jiā国家tōng yòng通用de的yǔ yán语言。
英语是很多国家通用的语言。
English is spoken in a lot of countries.
英语是一种全世界通用的语言。
English is a language spoken all over the world.
英语现已成为世界上许多国家的通用语言了。
English has now become the common language of several nations in the world.