Homonyms
What is a homonym?
A word that shares the same spelling or pronunciation as another word, but has a different meaning.
What is a homophone?
Words that sound the same, but have different meanings and often different spellings.
What is a homograph?
Words that are spelled the same, may sound different, and have different meanings.
Give an example of a Homonym
Ex: Bat- Bat.
Which of these are homophones?
A) See and sea
B) Book and cook
A) See and sea — they sound the same but mean different things.
Give an example of a homograph.
Tear- Tear.
Give two meanings of the word lie.
To recline or rest.
To tell something untrue.
Choose the correct homophone:
“I can’t wait to (see/sea) the ocean.”
See.
The word lead can mean to guide or a type of metal. How is it pronounced differently in each case?
Lead (to guide) → /liːd/
Lead (the metal) → /lɛd/
True or False: Every homonym is both a homograph and a homophone.
False — some homonyms are only one or the other.
Give two examples of Homophones.
Ex:
Use the word "record" as homographs in a sentence.
He recorded the show in which she broke the world record for ice skating.
Explain why context is essential when using homonyms.
Because homonyms look or sound the same, the context helps determine which meaning is intended, avoiding confusion.
Create a sentence using two Homophones in it.
Ex: I saw two birds fly into that house too.
How are homographs different from homophones?
Homographs share the same spelling, while homophones share the same sound.
For example:
Homographs → lead (to guide) / lead (metal)
Homophones → see / sea