Homonyms in English

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• Examples of homonyms in English

The homonyms They are words that have the same pronunciation or the same writing, but that have different meanings.

They may be:

• Homographs / Homographs: They are written in the same way, but they are not pronounced in the same way.
• Homophones / Homophones: They are pronounced the same way, even if they are spelled differently.

Homonyms differ from polysemic words because:

• Polysemic words: they have the same etymological origin.
• Homonymous word: they have different etymological origins.

Examples of homonyms in English

Allowed / Aloud

1. Allowed: allowed. It’s not allowed to smoke in here. / Smoking is not allowed here.
2. Aloud: out loud. He was talking aloud in the middle of the test. / I was talking out loud in the middle of the test.

Bail / Bale

1. Bail
2. Bale: bale

Bear

1. I'm afraid of bears. / I'm afraid of bears.
2. I can't bear this noise anymore. / I can't tolerate this noise anymore.

Board / Bored

1. Board: wooden board. We need to change the boards of the floor. / We need to change the tables
2. Bored. I'm bored, I want to go home. / I'm bored, I want to go home.

Dog

1. Open a can of soup. / Open a can of soup.
2. Verb power. I can swim very fast. / I can swim very fast.

Cell / Sell

1. Cell: cell. A whole organism is born from a single cell. / An entire organism is born from a single cell.
2. Sell: sell. I want to sell my house. / I want to sell my house.

Die / Dye

1. Die: die. He’s afraid to die. / He is afraid of dying.
2. Dye: dye. I'll dye my shirt black. / I will dye my shirt black.

Dew / Due

1. Dew: dew. The grass was moist by the dew. / The grass was damp with dew.
2. Due: scheduled for a certain date. The essay is due tomorrow. / The essay is due tomorrow.

Eye / I

1. Eye: eye. She has black eyes. / He has black eyes.
2. I: me. I live here. / I live here.

Gait / Gate

1. Gait: walk. I like Mr. Smith elegant gait. / I like the elegant walk of Mr. Smith.
2. Gate: gate or gate. Always remember to lock the garden gate. / Always remember to close the garden gate.

Heal / Heel

1. Cure. This medicine will heal you. / This medicine will heal you.
2. Heel: heel or heel. I broke the heel of my shoe. / The heel of my shoe broke.

Lead (example of homograph with different pronunciation)

1. The screen is made of lead. / The screen is made of lead.
2. I will lead you to your room. / I will guide you to your room.

Light

1. I will turn on the light. / It will turn on the light.
2. This fabric is very light. / This fabric is very light.

Live (example of homograph with different pronunciation)

1. I live across the street. / I live across the street.
2. We are broadcasting live from New York. / We are broadcasting live from New York.

Main / Mane

1. Main: main. This is the main problem. / This is the main problem.
2. Mane: mane. The lion’s mane is beautiful. / The lion's mane is beautiful.

Mean

1. She’s a mean witch. / She is an evil witch.
2. What does this word mean? / What does this word mean?

Our / Hour

1. Our: our. This is our house. / This is our house.
2. Hour: hour. I’ll be ready in an hour. / I'll be ready in an hour.

Pole

1. For example, North Pole, South Pole / north pole, south pole.
2. My grandfather was Pole. / My grandfather was Polish.

Pray / Prey

1. Pray: pray. I will pray for his recovery. / I will pray for his recovery.
2. Prey: victim. The lion atacks its prey. / The lion attacks his victim.

Queue / Cue

1. Queue: row. I'm in the queue at the supermarket. / I'm in line at the supermarket.
2. Cue: input or start signal. You have to start singing when you hear the cue. / You should start singing when you hear the signal.

Race

1. Race: This is for the benefit of the human race. / This is for the benefit of the human race.
2. Race: I'm training for the race. / I'm training for the race.

Rain / Reign

1. Rain: rain, rain. I think it will rain today. / I think it will rain today.
2. Reign: kingdom, reign. His reign lasted twenty years. / His reign lasted twenty years.

Root / Route

1. Root: This tree has strong roots. / This tree has strong roots.
2. Route: path, path or route. The horse knows the route home. / The horse knows the way home.

Soul / Sole

1. Soul: soul. His soul went to heave. / His soul went to heaven.
2. Sole: sole. I have to repair the sole of my shoe. / I have to repair the sole of my shoe.

Vain / Vein

• Vain: vain. I don’t like vain people. / I don't like vain people.
• Vein: vein. She’s so pale you can see the vains in her face. / She is so pale you can see the veins on her face.

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