Homonyms… we encounter them probably more often than we realize. They can be used in jokes and they are at times the source of mistakes. Let’s see what homonyms, homophones and homographs are and have a look at a few examples.
Perfect homonyms are words that are spelled and pronounced the same way, but have different meanings.
-right (adjective/ noun/ adverb); left (adverb/ verb); fair (carnival/ blond); skirt (noun, piece of clothing/ verb); scale (size/ map/ music).
Homophones are, as their name suggests, words that sound alike, but have different spelling and meaning.
–flower/flour; night/knight; plane/plain; sun/son; tale/tail; maid/made; there/their/they’re.
Homographs are words that are spelled the same way, but have different meanings; they may or may not be pronounced the same way.
-bat (a piece of sporting equipment used in baseball/ a winged animal); bow (to bend at the waist/ the front of a boat/ a pair of tied loops); compact (small/ to make small/ a small case for holding makeup); rose (flower/ to rise); bear (to support/ the animal); tear (to rip/ a drop of water from the eye).
by Elena Atudosiei
