Most of the older, conventional-style VOMs were wired in the way that Joe describes, so that polarity from the internal battery was the reverse of what you might expect on ohms ranges. It simplified the switching to do it that way.
The Avo 8 series meters (among others) actually use the positive terminal as the common for all ranges. The negative test lead is then connected to one of three terminals for switched ranges, 2500V A.C., or 2500V D.C. (it's not "negative" as such on A.C., of course).
