Homographs
Homographs:- In this section we will read about Homographs. What is Homographs, what are the uses and examples of Homographs, we will read in detail about these all.
What is a homograph?
A homograph is a word that shares the same spelling with another word but has a different meaning.
Definition of Homograph:-
Homographs are words with the same spelling but having more than one meaning.
Homograph examples:
No.-1. Back – back
No.-2. Capital – capital
No.-3. Drop – drop
No.-4. Invite – invite
No.-5. Lead – lead
Examples of homographs that start with A.
Absent
No.-1. If you’re absent more than five times, you fail the course.
No.-2. He had absented himself from the office for the day.
Abstract
No.-1. The research shows that preschool children are capable of thinking in abstract terms.
No.-2. Abstracts of about 200 words should be submitted to the conference committee who will decide which papers to accept.
Accent
No.-1. In the word ‘dinner’ the accent is on the first syllable.
No.-2. The women accent their eyes with makeup.
Address
No.-1. I can give you the address of a good attorney.
No.-2. That letter was addressed to me.
Advocate
No.-1. Those who advocate for doctor assisted suicide say the terminally ill should not have to suffer.
No.-2. She is a passionate advocate of natural childbirth.
Attribute
No.-1. Some economists attribute much of the rising wage inequality in this country to the shift in favor of the most skilled workers.
No.-2. She spent most of the interview describing the company’s attributes to me.
Examples of homographs that start with B:-
Back
No.-1. I’ll be back in a minute.
No.-2. She was the one who had fired him from his first job back in South Africa.
No.-3. Anna stood with her back to the window.
Ball
No.-1. Bounce the ball and try and hit it over the net.
No.-2. My hands were balled into fists.
Band
No.-1. The band was playing old Beatles songs.
No.-2. She always ties her hair back in a band.
No.-3. Many insects are banded black and yellow.
Bank
No.-1. I worked for a bank.
No.-2. He jumped in and swam to the opposite bank.
Bar
No.-1. She was sitting at the bar.
No.-2. I ate three bars of chocolate.
Bass
No.-1. I play bass in a jazz band.
No.-2. Fresh sea bass is a great delicacy.
Bat
No.-1. I am afraid of bats.
No.-2. It’s his first time at bat in the major leagues.
Blessedca
No.-1. I can’t see a blessed thing without my glasses.
No.-2. They brought the children to Jesus and he blessed them.
Bow
No.-1. This is done with a formal bow to the king or queen.
No.-2. She had a red bow in her hair.
Examples of homographs that start with C:-
Can
No.-1. Gabriella can speak French fluently.
No.-2. We drank a can of Coke each.
Capital
No.-1. Cairo is the capital of Egypt.
No.-2. You should write your name in capital letters.
Capture
No.-1. The robbery was captured on police video cameras.
No.-2. The two soldiers somehow managed to avoid capture.
Chest
No.-1. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
No.-2. In our family, we should have a medicine chest.
Clip
No.-1. They are clips from the new James Bond film.
No.-2. The wire is held on with a metal clip.
Cock
No.-1. A cock crowed as morning approached.
No.-2. He cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her.
Commune
No.-1. She lives in a commune.
No.-2. It is a place to commune with other women.
Compact
No.-1. The students’ rooms were compact, with a desk, bed, and closet built in.
No.-2. A compact was negotiated between the company and the union.
Compound
No.-1. Sulphur dioxide is a compound of sulphur and oxygen.
No.-2. A compound sentence contains two or more clauses.
Compress
No.-1. Snow falling on the mountainsides is compressed into ice.
No.-2. Apply a cold compress to the injury.
Conduct
No.-1. We are conducting a survey of consumer attitudes towards organic food.
No.-2. The Senator’s conduct is being investigated by the Ethics Committee.
Conflict
No.-1. Marx points out the potential conflicts below the surface of society.
No.-2. In other ways the activities of the councils tend to conflict with regional policy and weaken its effects.
Conscript
No.-1. Young Frenchmen were conscripted into the army and forced to fight in Algeria.
No.-2. The average number of conscripts in training has fallen from 80,000 to about 15,000.
Consort
No.-1. Both can take new consorts but only their daughter can be the new Everqueen.
No.-2. He is known to have consorted with prostitutes.
Construct
No.-1. They constructed a shelter out of fallen branches.
No.-2. The list of constructs can be endless.
Content
No.-1. The content of the media course includes scripting, editing, and camera work.
No.-2. Andy was a good husband, and Nicky was clearly very content.
Contest
No.-1. Stone decided to hold a contest to see who could write the best song.
No.-2. His wife is contesting a seat on the council.
Contrast
No.-1. While there are similarities in the two cultures, there are also great contrasts.
No.-2. Her actions and her promises contrasted sharply.
Convert
No.-1. The stocks can be easily converted to cash.
No.-2. She is a convert.
Convict
No.-1. She was convicted of shoplifting.
No.-2. There was a report on the news about an escaped convict.
Cool
No.-1. She swam out into the cool water.
No.-2. When tempers had cooled, he apologized.
Court
No.-1. Four people will appear in court today, charged with fraud.
No.-2. His campaign team has assiduously courted the media.
Examples of homographs that start with D:-
Date
No.-1. The date on the letter was 30th August 1962.
No.-2. She and Ron go to the park to date.
Dear
No.-1. His sister was very dear to him.
No.-2. Come along, my dear, take a seat.
Default
No.-1. The company is in default on its loan agreement.
No.-2. He defaulted on his child support payments.
Desert
No.-1. This area of the country is mostly desert.
No.-2. The village was deserted.
Dice
No.-1. We played dice all night.
No.-2. You move forward according to the number on the dice.
Digest
No.-1. Most babies can digest a wide range of food easily.
No.-2. If you’d rather receive your mail in large batches than have it trickle through, request a digest where available.
Discharge
No.-1. Sewage is discharged directly into the sea.
No.-2. Nurses visit the mother and baby for two weeks after their discharge from the hospital.
Discount
No.-1. Employees can buy books at a discount.
No.-2. We cannot discount the possibility of further strikes.
Do
No.-1. You need to do more exercise.
No.-2. We’re having a do to celebrate his 30th birthday.
Down
No.-1. The sun was going down and it would soon be dark.
No.-2. He down the coffee in one gulp.
Drop
No.-1. The apples are beginning to drop from the trees.
No.-2. A single drop of blood splashed onto the floor.
Duck
No.-1. Every afternoon they went to the park to feed the duck.
No.-2. He had to duck as he came through the door.
Examples of homographs that start with E:-
Effect
No.-1. My parents’ divorce had a big effect on me.
No.-2. Many parents lack confidence in their ability to effect change in their children’s behavior.
Exploit
No.-1. Opposition leaders were quick to exploit government embarrassment over the incident.
No.-2. His courage and exploit were legendary.
Extract
No.-1. They used torture to extract information about their families.
No.-2. I’ve only seen short extract from the film.
Homographs (F)
Examples of homographs that start with F:-
Fall
No.-1. September had come and the leaves were starting to fall.
No.-2. The area is beautiful in the fall.
Fan
No.-1. He’s a big fan of Elvis Presley.
No.-2. He is turning on the electric fan.
Fast
No.-1. I’m early—my watch must be fast.
No.-2. Gandhi drank some orange juice to break his threeweek fast.
File
No.-1. Every file on the same disk must have a different name.
No.-2. We began to file out into the car park.
Finance
No.-1. The project will only go ahead if they can raise the necessary finance.
No.-2. He took a job to finance his stay in Germany.
Fine
No.-1. If you want to use cheese instead of chicken, that’s fine.
No.-2. Offenders will be liable to a heavy fine.
Fit
No.-1. His clothes did not fit him very well.
No.-2. You must be very fit if you do so much running.
Float
No.-1. I wasn’t sure if the raft would float.
No.-2. We stood and watched the Carnival float drive past.
Fly
No.-1. The pilot was instructed to fly the plane to Montreal airport.
No.-2. A fly was buzzing against the window.
Foot
No.-1. My foot hurts.
No.-2. Once again it will be the taxpayer who has to foot the bill.
Frequent
No.-1. She was a frequent visitor to the house.
No.-2. We met in a local bar much frequented by students.
Firm
No.-1. I’m working for a firm of accountants.
No.-2. These peaches are still firm.
Fly
No.-1. A fly was buzzing against the window.
No.-2. Let’s fly a kite.
Examples of homographs that start with G and H:-
Gay
No.-1. I didn’t know he was gay.
No.-2. We don’t see gays being beaten to death in our country because of their sexuality.
House
No.-1. Let’s have the party at my house.
No.-2. The museum is housed in the Old Court House.
Homographs (I)
Examples of homographs that start with I:-
Impact
No.-1. The report assesses the impact of AIDS on the gay community.
No.-2. The company’s performance was impacted by the high value of the pound.
Implant
No.-1. Prejudices can easily become implanted in the mind.
No.-2. The history of implants has been equally painful; implants can shift or turn themselves upside down.
Incense
No.-1. Incense burned in a corner of the room.
No.-2. The decision incensed the workforce.
Incline
No.-1. I incline to the view that we should take no action at this stage.
No.-2. The council houses followed the curve of the road, which wound up a slight incline.
Increase
No.-1. The population has increased from 1.2 million to 1.8 million.
No.-2. There has been a marked increase in the use of firearms.
Insert
No.-1. They inserted a tube in his mouth to help him breathe.
No.-2. These inserts fit inside any style of shoe.
Insult
No.-1. I have never been so insulted in my life!
No.-2. The crowd was shouting insults at the police.
Interchange
No.-1. The new program should help solve some of the problems of data interchange between companies with different computer systems.
No.-2. There were two identical copies of each object that were interchanged regularly between trials.
Intimate
No.-1. We’re not on intimate terms with our neighbors.
No.-2. He was a wartime minister and intimate of Churchill.
Intrigue
No.-1. There was something about him that intrigued her.
No.-2. The young heroine steps into a web of intrigue in the academic world.
Invalid
No.-1. The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified.
No.-2. She had been a delicate child and her parents had treated her as an invalid.
Invite
No.-1. They have invited me to go to Paris with them.
No.-2. Thanks for your invite.
Examples of homographs that start with L:-
Lead
No.-1. She took the lead in the second lap.
No.-2. Lead exposure can be harmful to everyone, especially young children and babies.
Learned
No.-1. We all have different learned responses to anger.
No.-2. I learned a lot from my father.
Leaves
No.-1. The plane leaves at 11.30.
No.-2. Add a few leaves of fresh basil to the salad.
Left
No.-1. Look left and right before you cross the road.
No.-2. The plane left for Dallas last night.
Letter
No.-1. There’s a letter for you.
No.-2. B is the second letter of the alphabet.
Live
No.-1. We used to live in London.
No.-2. The club has live music most nights.
Examples of homographs that start with M
Manifest
No.-1. For the character to know and demonstrate their doom, their body must physically manifest the flaw through an impairment.
No.-2. And I can’t help seeing the manifest in any case, I’ve always been interested in it.
Match
No.-1. If you suspect a gas leak do not strike a match or use electricity.
No.-2. Her fingerprints match those found at the scene of the crime.
Mean
No.-1. What does this sentence mean?
No.-2. He needed to find a mean between frankness and rudeness.
Might
Commonly Confused Homographs:-
No.-1. He said he might come tomorrow.
No.-2. I pushed the rock with all my might.
Mind
No.-1. There were all kinds of thoughts running through my mind.
No.-2. I hope you don’t mind the noise.
Minute
No.-1. I’ll be back in a few minutes.
No.-2. You’d better minute that point.
Moped
No.-1. There was hardly any traffic, just a few parked cars and a cluster of mopeds around the door of the bar opposite.
No.-2. The week he died, we all sat around and moped.
Examples of homographs that start with N and O:-
Nail
No.-1. The key was hanging on a nail by the door.
No.-2. I’ve broken my nail.
Novel
No.-1. I read a lot of novels.
No.-2. What a novel idea!
Number
No.-1. My phone number is 266998.
No.-2. I number her among my closest friends.
Object
No.-1. The object of the game is to improve children’s math skills.
No.-2. His supporters will certainly object if he is fired.
Offense
No.-1. The new law makes it a criminal offense to drink alcohol in public places.
No.-2. He played offense for the Chicago Bulls.
Examples of homographs that start with P
Palm
No.-1. He held the bird gently in the palm of his hand.
No.-2. The tropical tree which grows near beaches or in deserts, with a long straight trunk and large pointed leaves at the top, is coconut palm.
Park
No.-1. We went for a walk in the park.
No.-2. They had a sheet showing a car park and also cars to cut out.
Pen
No.-1. Write your essays in pen not pencil.
No.-2. You should pen a letter to the local paper.
Perfect
No.-1. Well I’m sorry—but nobody’s perfect.
No.-2. Mock trials help students perfect their legal skills.
Perfume
No.-1. She was wearing too much perfume.
No.-2. One bloom has the power to perfume a whole room.
Pet
No.-1. They have a pet a dog.
No.-2. He did not pet it, or stroke it: he stood staring.
Plain
No.-1. The plain fact is that nobody really knows.
No.-2. The grassy plain gave way to an extensive swamp.
Play
No.-1. You’ll have to play inside today.
No.-2. On the next play, Johnson ran 15 yards for a touchdown.
Point
No.-1. He’s just saying that to prove a point.
No.-2. Everything seemed to point in one direction.
Polish
No.-1. I give it a polish now and again.
No.-2. Your essay is good, you just need to polish it a bit.
Pop
No.-1. The eight compilations range from teen pop to classical.
No.-2. I’ll pop over and see you this evening.
Present
No.-1. What can I get him for a birthday present?
No.-2. You’ve got to forget the past and start living in the present.
Produce
No.-1. They were unable to produce any statistics to verify their claims.
No.-2. The shop sells only fresh local produce.
Progress
No.-1. We have made great progress in controlling inflation.
No.-2. The course allows students to progress at their own speed.
Project
No.-1. The final term will be devoted to project work.
No.-2. They sought advice on how to project a more positive image of their company.
Punch
No.-1. These bullets can punch a hole through 20 mm steel plate.
No.-2. I managed to land a punch on his chin.
Examples of homographs that start with Q and R:-
Quarter
No.-1. It’s a quarter past twelve.
No.-2. I peel and quarter an apple.
Race
No.-1. There is a race between the two best runners of the club.
No.-2. We race each other back to the car.
Read
No.-1. Some children can read and write before they go to school.
No.-2. I was having a quiet read when the phone rang.
Rebel
No.-1. Some parts of the country fell into rebel hands.
No.-2. Most teenagers find something to rebel against.
Recall
No.-1. She could not recall his name.
No.-2. She has amazing powers of recall.
Research
No.-1. He has carried out extensive research into renewable energy sources.
No.-2. We have to research how the product will actually be used.
Resume
No.-1. She hopes to resume work after the baby is born.
No.-2. He gave a resume of the year’s work and wished the Society another successful year.
Retake
No.-1. Government forces moved in to retake the city.
No.-2. We had to do a retake before we got it right.
Right
No.-1. I’m sure I’m right.
No.-2. Take a right turn at the intersection.
Ring
No.-1. What a beautiful ring!
No.-2. The children sat on the floor in a ring.
Rock
No.-1. Komuro formed a rock band with some friends while in college.
No.-2. To build the tunnel, they had to cut through 500 feet of solid rock.
Rose
No.-1. She has a rose garden.
No.-2. They rose from the table.
Row
No.-1. We sat in a row at the back of the room.
No.-2. A row has broken out over education.
Ruler
No.-1. I have a 12inch ruler.
No.-2. King Priam was a firm, but just ruler.
Examples of homographs that start with S:-
Saw
No.-1. Saw is a tool that has a long blade with sharp points along one of its edges.
No.-2. Last night, I saw a lovely girl.
Scale
No.-1. They entertain on a large scale.
No.-2. He somehow managed to scale the sheer outside wall of the tower.
Second
Homograph Examples:-
No.-1. This is the second time it’s happened.
No.-2. The water flows at about 1.5 meters per second.
Separate
No.-1. The school is housed in two separate buildings.
No.-2. Stir the sauce constantly so that it does not separate.
Ship
No.-1. There are two restaurants on board ship.
No.-2. The company continues to ship more computer systems than its rivals.
Sign
No.-1. Headaches may be a sign of stress.
No.-2. You forgot to sign the cheque.
Sink
No.-1. The ships sink to the bottom of the sea.
No.-2. I felt chained to the kitchen sink.
Slide
No.-1. You can slide the front seats forward if necessary.
No.-2. The economy is on the slide.
Spoke
No.-1. He drew every spoke in the wheels, and the whole affair looked as if it had been instantaneously petrified or arrested.
No.-2. I spoke to her last Wednesday.
Spring
No.-1. I’m sorry to spring it on you, but I’ve been offered another job.
No.-2. He was born in the spring of 1944.
Stalk
No.-1. He ate the apple, stalk and all.
No.-2. Snatching up my bag, I stalk out of the room.
State
No.-1. He was in a state of permanent depression.
No.-2. The Queen is on a state visit to Moscow.
Stick
No.-1. Don’t stick your fingers through the bars of the cage.
No.-2. The boys were throwing sticks and stones at the dog.
Subject
No.-1. I have nothing more to say on the subject.
No.-2. Biology is my favorite subject.
Suspect
No.-1. If you suspect a gas leak, do not strike a match or even turn on an electric light.
No.-2. He is the prime suspect in the case.
Examples of homographs that start with T and W
Tie
No.-1. He had to tie her hands together.
No.-2. I wear a shirt and tie at work.
Tear
No.-1. I’ll tear the package open.
No.-2. She left the room in tears.
Toast
No.-1. I’d like to propose a toast to the bride and groom.
No.-2. I had a piece of toast for breakfast.
Too
No.-1. He’s far too young to go on his own.
No.-2. “I’m feeling hungry.” – “Me too.”
Trip
No.-1. We went on a trip to the mountains.
No.-2. Someone will trip over that cable.
Type
No.-1. There are three main types of contracts.
No.-2. This letter will need to be typed again.
Watch
No.-1. I like watching TV every night.
No.-2. I glanced at my watch.
Wave
No.-1. Huge waves were breaking on the shore.
No.-2. The people on the bus waved and we waved back.
Well
No.-1. The conference was very well organized.
No.-2. The dog fell down a well.
Wind
No.-1. The wind is blowing from the south.
No.-2. Give the handle another couple of winds.
Wound
No.-1. He died from the wounds he had received to his chest.
No.-2. He had been wounded in the arm.
