List some homographs (words spelled the same but pronounced differently).
language/english/pronunciation/homograph/homographs
Problem
List some homographs (words spelled the same but pronounced differently).
Show solution
Classes:
A - All of the following "defects" absent
B - Basic meanings are related
C - Capitalization differs ("capitonyms")
D - Different spellings also exist (US vs UK, hyphenation, etc.)
E - Equal pronunciations also exist (US vs UK, regional, etc.)
F - Foreign word, or may be distinguished with accent marks
G - Gcontrived :-), coined, jargon, or other uncommon word
Abbreviations:
NV - corresponding noun and verb
3 - 3-way homograph
4 - 4-way homograph
5 - 5-way homograph
A ablative (grammatical case, tending to lose parts)
B abstract (NV)
B abuse (NV)
BE accent (NV)
A acedia (apathy, kind of fish)
3C acre (land area, Bazilian state, Israeli port)
B addict (NV)
B address (NV)
A adduct (chemical addition product, to draw together)
A advert (advertisement (British), make reference)
B advocate (NV)
C afar (a great distance, Omani city)
BG affect (alter, emotion)
B affiliate (NV)
B affix (NV)
C agama (Hindu scripture, lizard)
F agape (wide open, form of love)
B aged (the ~, ~ cheese)
B aggregate (NV)
F agora (marketplace in Greece, Israel money)
G ai (sloth, ouch!)
C air (atmosphere, region in the Sahara)
BE ally (NV)
B alternate (NV)
G alum (name of chemical, alumnus)
BD analyses (plural noun, singular verb (UK))
B anathema (accursed, consecrated)
B animate (verb, adjective)
B annex (NV)
A appropriate (take posession of, suitable)
B approximate (verb, adjective)
E are (form of to be, unit of area)
CF ares (Greek god, unit of area (plural))
B arithmetic (noun, adjective)
BE array (NV)
A arses (plural arse, plural arsis)
B articulate (verb, adjective)
5CDFG as (like, Roman coin, Persian card game, pl. of a, Norse Aesir god)
C askew (awry, Florida politician)
B aspirate (NV)
B associate (NV)
A ate (past of eat, recklessness)
E attaches (plural attache, present tense of attach)
B attribute (NV)
C august (majestic, month)
A axes (plural of ax, plural of axis)
E ay(e) (yes, always)
A barrage (dam, artillery fire)
C barre (stripes, town in Vermont)
A bases (plural of base, plural of basis)
A bass (~ fiddle, fishing for ~)
B bathing (take a bath, to bathe)
B baton (NV)
G beer (beverage, one who is)
C begin (start, former Israeli leader)
C berry (fruit, French region)
BE blessed (prosperous, he ~ her)
C boule (Greek legislature, synthetic gem)
EG bourgeois (capitalistic, type size)
A bow(ed) (~ and arrow, ~ to the king)
F brat (naughty child, ~wurst)
E buffet (jostle, ~ lunch)
B bustier (undergarment, more busty)
E can (metalic container, able to)
F cave (cavern, Latin beware)
F charge (rush, diplomat)
A chela (small claw, disciple)
C chosen (picked, Japanese name for Korea)
C chou (cabbage, Chinese dynasty)
B close (~ call, ~ the door)
B closer (door ~, more close)
B coagulate (NV)
A coax (urge, coaxial cable)
B collect (prayer, gather)
3CFG colon (":", colonial farmer, Costa Rican monetary unit)
B combat (NV)
B combine (NV)
3A comes (moves toward, answer in a fugue, dried rootlets)
A commune (take Communion, administrative district)
A compact (closely arranged, treaty)
B complex (complicated, compound)
B compost (NV)
B compound (NV)
B compress (NV)
B concert (NV)
C concord (NV, New Hampshire capital)
B conduct (NV)
B confect (NV)
B confederate (NV)
B confines (NV)
B conflict (NV)
B conglomerate (NV)
B conjugate (NV)
B conscript (NV)
BE conserve (preserve, jam)
A console (soothe, keyboard desk)
B consort (NV)
B construct (NV)
B consult (NV)
B consummate (verb, adjective)
BE contact (NV)
E content (what is contained, satisfied)
B contest (NV)
B contract (NV)
B contrast (NV)
BG convent (nunnery, convene)
A converse (logic term, to talk)
B convert (NV)
B convict (NV)
3CDE coop (cooperative, enclosure, personal name)
BE coordinate (NV)
B crack down (NV)
B curate (clergyman, act as curator)
F cure (heal, parish priest)
B cursed (NV)
FG dame (woman, term in the game of Go)
DE decameter (poetic line with 10 feet, 10 meters (US))
B decrease (NV)
B default (NV)
B defect (flaw, turn traitor)
E defense (sports term, fortification)
C degas (remove gas from, French artist)
BE delegate (NV)
C deli (delicatessen, Indonesian city)
B deliberate (adjective, verb)
F denier (one who denies, former French coin)
A desert (leave alone, Sahara ~)
B desolate (adjective, verb)
B detail (NV)
B digest (NV)
D dingy (dull, small boat)
BE discharge (NV)
B discriminate (distinguish, opposite of indiscriminate)
B dismount (NV)
BE dispatch (NV)
BE dispute (NV)
E divers (plural diver, various)
F do (perform, tonic note of scale)
A does (~ the buck see the ~?)
B dogged (followed, determined)
DE douse (drench, use a diving rod)
A dove (dived, pigeon)
F dozen (12, stun (Scottish))
B drawer (one who draws, chest of ~s)
B duplicate (NV)
B elaborate (verb, adjective)
A ellipses (plural ellipse, plural ellipsis)
A entrance (door, delight)
BDE envelop(e) (NV)
G ergotism (logical reasoning, ergot poisoning)
B escort (NV)
B essay (piece of writing, try)
B estimate (NV)
3AC even (Siberian people, flat, knitting term)
E evening (making even, twilight)
CFG ewe (female sheep, African language)
A excise (customs duty, cut out)
B excuse (NV)
B exploit (NV)
B export (NV)
BF expose (NV)
B extract (NV)
B fall out (NV)
A felly (part of a wheel, sinister)
B ferment (NV)
E fiasco (failure, bottle)
F file (tool, sassafras powder)
BDE fillet (cut of meat/fish, band of ribbon/wood)
B finance (NV)
3F fine (minute, finish, brandy)
A flower (one who flows, bloom)
D forbear (abstain, ancestor)
C forest (area with trees, town in Belgium)
G formal (ceremonious, methylal)
F forte (strong point, loud)
3F fourchette (membrane, glove part, heraldry term)
B frequent (NV)
DEG genet (civetlike animal, horselike animal)
G genial (pleasant, of the chin)
E gibber (incoherent speech, Australian polished stone)
A gill (volume unit, organ in fish)
G gin (liquor, dialectical before)
A glower (sullen look, one that glows)
B graduate (NV)
3F grave (accent, burial place, music term)
3F guara (ibis, wild dog, tree)
C guy (male, Flemish ruler)
F gyro (gyroscope, Greek sandwich)
C hades (hell, angles of geological faults)
B hand out (NV)
F he (pronoun, Hebrew letter)
CE herb (plant, short for Herbert)
B hinder (hamper, posterior)
C home (Daniel Douglas Home, residence)
B house (NV)
C ill (sick, river in Austria)
B impact (NV)
B implant (NV)
B implement (NV)
B import (NV)
D imposter (impostor, customs official)
B impound (NV)
B impress (NV)
B imprint (NV)
G impugnable (capable of being impugned, obsolete cannot be overcome)
B incarnate (NV)
B incense (infuriate, perfume for burning)
B incline (NV)
B increase (NV)
B indent (NV)
B indurate (NV)
B inebriate (NV)
B initiate (NV)
B insert (NV)
B inset (NV)
B insult (NV)
BE integral (adjective, noun)
B intercept (NV)
B interchange (NV)
B interdict (NV)
B intermediate (NV)
B intern (NV)
B intimate (~ relations, to suggest)
B invalid (cripple, erroneous)
B invert (NV)
B invite (NV)
G is (form of to be, plural of i)
BE issue (NV)
B jagged (slashed or cut, having a zigzag edge)
D jargon (specialized langauge, yellow zircon)
C job (occupation, Bible character)
BCF jubilate (rejoice, joyous song)
CF junker (trashy car, German name)
CF kin (relatives, Manchu ancestors)
G kine (cows, motion picture)
F lame (crippled, metallic fabric)
F lamed (crippled, Hebrew letter)
CE lanai (porch, Hawaiian island)
3A lather (suds, lath worker, lathe worker)
E lea (meadow, yarn measure)
A lead (~ pipe, ~ astray)
BD learned (learnt, knowledgeable)
BE legged (past tense verb, adjective)
C levy (tax, Jewish name)
F lied (fibbed, German art song)
C liege (loyal, city in Belgium)
CF lima (bean, city in Peru)
G lineage (ancestry, # of print lines)
B live (~ in peace, ~ audience)
B liver (filter organ, more alive)
B lives (~ in peace, for all of our ~)
A lower (to let down, frown)
CF luger (luge rider, gun maker)
G lunger/ed (one who lunges, TB victim (slang))
D lupine (wolflike, clustered flower)
B make up (NV)
CG mallet (hammer, steam locomotive type)
B mamma (mother, teat)
F manes (plural of mane, Roman gods)
C maria (dark areas on moons or planets, south Pacific island)
G mare (female horse, "sea" on the moon)
F mate (friend, type of tea)
D micrometer (measuring device, .000001 meter (US))
C millet (Jean-Francois Millet, cereal)
B minute (60 seconds, tiny)
B misconduct (NV)
3BCE mobile (movable, city in Alabama, wind-blown sculpture)
B moderate (NV)
EG molar (back tooth, chemical term)
3CF mole (Sudanese people, birthmark, sauce)
A moped (brooded, fun vehicle)
A morel (black nightshade, edible fungus)
F mores (plural of more, manners)
BE mouse (rodent, to hunt them)
B mouth (NV)
A mow (pile of hay, to cut down)
B multiply (verb, adverb)
3F nana (nursemaid, mint, dwarfish)
C natal (South African province, pertaining to birth)
CDE nestles (snuggles, beverage maker)
A nestling (snuggling, young bird)
C nice (city in France, pleasing)
CF none (not any, fifth canonical hour)
A number (decimal ~, more numb)
F nun (woman in religious order, Hebrew letter)
B object (NV)
B occult (NV)
E offense (sports term, attack)
3DG os (bone, esker, pl. of o)
C our (belonging to us, river in Belgium)
A overage (too old, surplus)
B overcount (NV)
B overlook (NV)
F pace (stride, Latin peace)
3CF pala (language, ivory tree, impala)
B palatine (of a palace, fur cape and hood)
C palladian (following Palladio, wise)
G palsy (friendly (slang), paralysis)
F pan (frying ~, leaf of betel tree)
4A papa (father, priest, baboon, shrubs)
B paralyses (plural noun, singular verb (UK))
BE parole (NV)
3CF passe (Arawakan, outdated, roulette term)
A pasty (pastelike, British meat pie)
4FG pate (head, food paste, type of cross, porcelain paste for ceramics)
B patent (noun, adjective)
BF pave (cover with material, set jewels close together)
A peaked (sharply pointed, unhealthy looking)
A peer (equal, one who pees)
B perfect (verb, adjective)
G periodic (regularly occurring, ~ acids such as HIO4)
B permit (NV)
A perpend (ponder, brick or stone reaching through a wall)
B pervert (NV)
3A pili (nut, grass, hair)
F pique (irritate, ribbed fabric)
A placer (one who places, gold-bearing surface gravel)
EFG plies (layers, ballet moves)
C polish (shine, of Poland)
A poll (head, group of students)
B pontificate (NV)
B prayer (what one prays, one who prays)
B precedent (NV)
B precipitate (NV)
B predicate (NV)
BE premise (NV)
B present(s) (give, currently)
E primer (intro book/material (US), device for priming)
B procede (NV)
B proceeds (advances, income)
B produce (give rise to, fruits and vegetables)
B progress (to move forward, work in ~)
B project (planned undertaking, to throw forward)
BE prospect (NV)
B protest (NV)
B purpose (NV)
A pussy (cat, infected)
B putter/putting (one that puts, one that putts)
C quiche (egg pie, department in Guatemala)
F quite (completely, matador passes)
3CDG rabat (Morocco capital, clerical garment, pottery polishing piece)
DG rabbi (clerical garment, Jewish religious official)
B ragged (teased, tattered)
C rainier (more rainy, US mountain)
C ravel (tangle or untangle, French composer)
A raven (black bird, plunder)
F re (pertaining to, 2nd note of scale)
B read (present tense, past tense)
C reading (~ a book, city in England or Pennsylvania)
F real (actual, former Spanish coin)
3DEG rebate(d) (partially refund, rabbet, in truncated form (heraldry))
B rebel (NV)
B recall (NV)
B recap (NV)
B recess (NV)
B recoil (NV)
B record (NV)
D recreate (relax, create again)
D recreation (pastime, second creation)
3BD redress (compensate, compensation, dress again)
B refill (NV)
BD reform (improve, form again)
B refund (NV)
B refuse (NV)
B regress (NV)
B reject (NV)
B relapse (NV)
D relay (electromechanical device, lay again)
B remake (NV)
E repent (regret, creeping)
B replay (NV)
D represent (stand for, present again)
B rerun (NV)
EFG res (notes, legal thing)
D research (investigate, search again)
A resent (be indignant, sent again)
D reserve (hold back, serve again)
D resign (quit, sign again)
D resolve (settle dispute, solve again)
D resort (vacation spot, sort again)
F resume (work summary, restart)
B retake (NV)
B retard (NV)
B retract (NV)
BF rissole (minced meat fried in pastry, browned by frying in fat)
A river (watercourse, one who rives)
CE rodeo (entertainment featuring animals, ~ Drive in Beverly Hills)
F rose (flower, wine)
B route/ed/ing/er (path, woodworking term)
A row (a fight, ~,~,~ your boat)
A rugged (robust, having a rug)
C said (spoke, Middle Eastern port)
F sake (purpose, Japanese drink)
C salamis (naval battle in 480 B.C., sausages)
3AF salve (ointment, salvage, hail!)
CE scotia (concave molding in the base of columns, Latin Scotland)
BE second (2nd or 1/60 minute, transfer to temporary job)
E secretive (keeping a secret, giving off a secretion)
3BG seer (one who sees, prophet, Indian weight unit)
B segment (NV)
C seine (net, French river)
B separate (NV)
A severer (cutter, more severe)
A sewer (storm ~, one who sews)
E sheave (wheel in pulley, gather)
G shin (body part, Hebrew letter)
A shive (wood bung, piece of plant matter)
A shower (one who shows, ~ stall)
G sin (transgress, Hebrew letter)
AC singer (Isaac Bashevis Singer, one who singes, one who sings)
A skied (past tense of ski, past tense of sky)
A slaver (slave taker, drool)
3A slough (swamp, cast-off, strike)
3CDE sol (sun, colloidal suspension, musical note)
DEG solar (of the sun, chamber in medieval English house)
3F sous (subordinate, archery term, money)
A sow (~ seeds, female pig)
C spree (binge, German river)
A stamina (endurance, plural of stamen)
A stingy (meager, able to sting)
EG stipulate (request explicitly, having stipules)
EG stupe (hot compress as counterirritant, stupid person)
B subject (NV)
A supply (in a supple way, ~ and demand)
B survey (NV)
B suspect (NV)
G swinger (whopper, one that swings)
G swingle (flax beating tool, single person who "swings")
B syndicate (NV)
F tales (stories, Latin added potential jurors)
CF tang (flavor, Chinese dynasty)
C tangier (more tangy, city in Morocco)
3C tanka (Japanese verse form, Eastern coins, Chinese people)
A tarry (covered in tar, dawdle)
A taxes (plural of tax, movements of organism in response to stimulus)
G taxis (cabs, movement of organism in response to stimulus)
A tear (~ down, shed a ~)
A thou (you, slang for thousand)
A thymic (of thyme, of thymus)
A tier (one who ties, row or rank)
3F titi (tree, monkey, petrel)
A toots (honks, informal term of address)
B torment (NV)
FG touches (contacts, instances of saying touche)
A tower (one who tows, leaning ~)
BE transfer (NV)
B transform (NV)
B transplant (NV)
B transport (NV)
BE transpose (NV)
CG triton (large snail or Greek demigod, nucleus of tritium)
G tropic (near the equator, seeking [biology])
G tush (long pointed tooth, buttocks (slang))
B ultimate (NV)
B undercount (NV)
DG unionized (~ labor, ~ hydrogen)
B update (NV)
B uplift (NV)
B upset (NV)
G us (we, plural of u)
B use (NV)
F vale (valley, Latin farewell)
A viola (musical instrument, pansy or violet)
A violist (viol player, viola player)
F vise (tool for holding work, visa)
C vital (essential, Palestinian author)
E whoops (cry of joy, cry of dismay)
A wicked (evil, past of wick)
A wind/ing/y (~ the clock, north ~)
F won (past of win, Korean money)
CF worms (invertebrates, German city)
A wound (injury, wrapped around)
C xi (Greek letter, Chinese river)
E yak (ox, laugh)
C zemi (fetish, Naga people)
G zeus (Greek god, Zeidae)