What are some examples of homonyms?

Answer 1

The word homonym (from the Latin for 'same name') is the term used for a word with the same sound or spelling (or the same sound and spelling) as another but which has a different meaning.

Homophones have the same sound but different meanings or spellings (e.g. threw, through) (*for a long list see the related question)

Homographs have the same spelling but different meanings.

(see the related question below on homographs)

Examples of homonyms (having the same spelling and sound):

Book: noun: reading material.

Book: verb: to make a schedule engagement.

Book: verb: to throw someone in jail.

Egg: noun: a hard-shelled body produced by a bird

Egg: verb: to incite or urge into action

Row: to propel a boat with an oar

Row: a line of items

Examples of homophones : words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. (see the related questions):

there: The little boy lives over there.

they're : (the contraction for "they are") They're some of our best friends.

their : Our neighbors have lost their dog.

one: Do they have one cat or two?

won: He won the race.

blue: Her favorite color is blue.

blew: The wind blew his hat right off his head.

dear: I've known her for years, she's a very dear friend.

deer : A young deer is called a fawn.

stare: It's hard not to stare at her unusual hair style.

stair: There's ice on the last stair, so be careful coming up.

write: Please write your name at the top of your paper.

right: Did you use your left hand or your right hand?

rite : The rite is part of their initiation.

weight: She is always trying to lose weight.

wait : The kids can't wait to go to Disney World.

him : Dad isn't feeling well so I'll make some hot tea for him.

hymn : As the pastor entered, we sang a familar hymn.

red: Red cars seem to get the most speeding tickets.

read: She was a good mom who read to her toddlers every night.

road : The workers are repairing a huge pothole in the road.

rode : He rode his skateboard to the park.

made : She made him a birthday cake.

maid: If I had a maid, my house would always be clean.

wine: Do you prefer beer or wine?

whine: The baby started to whine and I knew it was time for her nap.

threw: The pitcher threw the ball toward the batter.

through: The pig walked through the mud.

berry: She placed a single berry on top of the cake.

bury: Where did the dog bury the bone?

by: The novel is written by J.K. Rowlings.

buy: He stopped at the store to buy some milk.

bye: My tiny nephew just learned how say, "Bye, bye".

hour: One hour contains 60 minutes.

our: Our family gets together quite often.

tail: The puppy must be happy because he's wagging his tail.

tale: Did you enjoy the tale of King Arthur?

male: Is your new kitten a male or a female?

mail: Mom insisted that I send a traditional thank-you note in the mail.

hear: Did you hear that he won the lottery?

here: Here is the money you asked for.

sent: The kids sent me flowers for my birthday.

scent: As the breeze blew, the scent of lilacs filled the air.

cent: Do you happen to have a one cent stamp?

wave: Watch the beauty queen wave to the crowd.

waive: Until now, I've always paid on time so can't you waive the late fee?

to, too and two: The two of us walked to the beach, the park and the mall, too.

pair: He wore a new pair of shoes.

pear: Do you want an apple or a pear in your lunchbox?

pare: Use a knife to pare the carrots for the stew.

see, sea: You'll see beautiful shells as you walk by the sea.

steel, steal: Afraid that someone might steal the jewels, he locked them in a steel safe.

flour: Place the butter, sugar and flour in a bowl.

flower : Her favorite flower is a pink tulip.

slay: Shrek and Donkey didn't slay the dragon.

sleigh: The glided across the snowy field in a sleigh.

praise : The teacher was quick to praise the student who won the contest.

prays: She is a humble woman who prays for the poor in her community.

MORE EXAMPLES

peace-piece, they are 2 words that sound the same but are spelt different and mean different things

1. Do you know the answer? (answer = noun), Please answer me. (answer = verb
2. bank a place for money and another word for hill
3. crest the leveling off of water and a symbol
4. date on the calendar and a romantic date
5. flash a flash in the sky and flash an ID card at someone
6. green the color and green, the part of a golf course, also can mean inexperienced
7. jump The skier flew over a jump. (noun) Can you jump up high? high = verb
8. list List all of your friends. (verb) Make a list. (list = noun)
9. mind as in do you mind? and A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
10. note a short letter and a musical note, also means to notice
11. punch as in to hit and punch as in a festive party beverage
12. pin a pin used in sewing and a Bowling pin
13. pack as in put thing in a suitcase and pack as in a pack of wolves
14. pass as in a backstage pass or hall pass, pass as in to go ahead of
15. part as in to part ones hair, part as in a piece,
16. print as in an art print, print as in to write
17. press as in a printing press and press as in to press a button
18. plant as in plant a garden and plant as in a factory
19. post as in to post a message and post as in a sign post
20. pick as in to choose, pick as in a guitar pick or ice pick
21. pants as in clothing and pants as in a thirsty dog pants.
22. pit to pit one against another and a pit from a peach or plum
23. pen as in writing instrument and pen as in a closed in area of animals
24. ride as in ride a bike, ride = (verb) and go for a ride (ride = noun)
25. right meaning correct and right as in civil rights or human rights
26. place as in to put something in place and place as in physical location
27. pool swimming pool and to pool together resources
28. sort as in to divide into groups and sort as in what sort of game is this?
29. store as in a retail store and store as A closet is a place to store things
30. stand the opposite of sit, stand as in a music stand
31. stick as in part of a tree and stick as in tape will stick things together
32. clip a verb as in clip coupons and clip as in paper clip
33. chip to chip ones nail and a potato chip
34. trip to fall down and a vacation or getaway
35. trim trim ones hair, trim as in decoration, velvet trim on a dress
36. bark on the outside of a tree, bark as in the noise a dog makes
37. match as in a pair and match used to light a flame
38. light not heavy, and the opposite of dark
39. dash to run, dash out the door and dash as in the punctuation mark
40. time as in to time someone in a race and time on a clock
41. left the opposite of right, also, left as in they left the party.
42. look He gave me a mean look (noun) and to look with ones eyes
43. shake a milkshake , to move back and fourth
44. fan as in a sports fan and fan as in a fan used to circulate air
45. fish the animal with fins (noun) to fish in a pond (verb)
46. fall the season when leaves change color and fall as in to stumble and fall
47. drink as in to sip, (verb) drink as in have a drink (noun)
48. water as in a glass of water and water as in to water the plants
49. tie as in to tie ones shoes tie as in a man wears a tie
50. bar as in a place to hang out and buy alcohol; bar is also a shape, a bar of silver or a candy bar; and bar is a verb as a word meaning to restrict.