Homographs

Words that have the same spelling but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations as well.

Homograph	Meaning	Sentence Example
Can	A container	Salvia stored dry flowers in a can.
	Being able to do something	I am sure I can do it.
Date	A day in a month or a year	Do you remember the date and year of our graduation?
	A sweet fruit	I have two dates everyday in the morning on an empty stomach.
Band	A group of musicians	The band played at the inaugural ceremony of the award function.
	A strip of material tied around something	Bibin tied a friendship band for his brother.
Saw	A tool used to cut wood or metal	My father needed a saw to cut the wood into multiple pieces.
	To look at something around you	My cousin told me that he saw a Porsche today.
Ruler	Someone who rules a kingdom	Who is the first Mughal ruler?
	A long, narrow piece of wood, steel or plastic that is flat and used to measure things or draw straight lines	The maths teacher taught the students how to use a ruler to measure and draw lines.
Rose	A flower	My mom gave me a bunch of orange roses for my birthday.
	To come up	His friend rose to the occasion and helped them out.
Bark	The outer portion of a tree	I used the bark of the pine tree to make some interior decor for our house.
	A loud noise made by the dog	Nobody knew why the dog kept barking even after the owner gave him food.
Fall	A season of the year, otherwise known as autumn	The colours brown and yellow represent the fall season.
	To go down	She was about to fall down.
Ship	A large or big boat that is used to carry passengers or goods	My children were so excited to witness two ships crossing at the same time.
	To send something by ship or some kind of transport	The dealers informed me that the orders that have been placed already will be shipped within a day or two.
Park	A large area of land that is mostly used for children to play or for people to walk	There is a children’s park in our area.
	To leave or stage the vehicle somewhere for a period of time	My cousin has become an expert now. She parks the car without any sort of confusion.
Spring	A season of the year	Spring is my favourite season.
	To jump or move suddenly or quickly	Tim will spring up in excitement when he hears of your victory.
File	A case to keep some documents together and safely	Do you have a file to carry all your original certificates?
	To keep something in a particular place	You have to file it if you want it to be safe.
Wave	Water that moves across the surface of the water	My son was excited to see the waves.
	To move your hands from side to side	My pet dog waved his hand the moment he saw my mom.
Well	A large, deep hole in the ground that carries water which can be used for domestic purposes	There is a very deep well in our old house.
	Something that is done in a good way	Do you know him well?
	To be in a good state	I am well.
Trip	A leisure journey	When are you going on that Bangalore trip you have been planning for months?
	An action of nearly falling as a result of your foot catching on something	He tripped and fell.
Tie	A long piece of cloth with a knot in front that is used to wear around the neck	Mia’s father does not like to wear a tie.
	To fasten something or someone with a rope or a string	My brother helped me tie my shoelace.
Drink	Some liquid that quenches your thirst	Would you like to have a drink?
	To have something liquid that quenches your thirst	What would you like to drink?
Orange	A fruit	My nephew likes oranges.
	A colour	We were asked to wear an orange dress for the party.
Point	A specific/particular idea, thought or opinion that someone is expressing	What is the point you are trying to make?
	The most important piece of information or what is being said/discussed	The whole point of this meeting was to discuss the future business prospects.
	To show or draw attention to something by using your finger or some object like a stick	Will you be able to point out what exactly  the problem here is?
Fly	An insect	A fly was continuously passing in front of my eyes.
	The action of moving through air	Did you know that peacocks can fly?
Palm	The inner part of your hand	I know her like the palm of my hand.
	A tall, straight tree	There is a farm full of palm trees on the way to my home.
Drop	A very small amount of liquid	I added a drop of honey to my lemon tea.
	To fall or let something fall down	She said that she dropped the glass bowl by mistake.
Letter	A written or printed document for formal and informal purposes	Jancy wrote a letter to her mom.
	Another word to refer to an alphabet or a symbol	She writes the letter ‘S’ beautifully.
Left	The left side or direction	Her father has severe pain in his left knee.
	To move or go away from someone or something permanently or for a short period of time	We left the hall around 12 p.m.
	To move to the left side	She jumped to the left instead of jumping to the right side.

 

Homographs Exercises

Fill in the gaps with correct homographs by choosing the most suitable option from the homographs given below. (bark, book, left, match, sink, bank, rig, band, well, watch)

The boy ____ the match in between due to the injury.

What is the time on your ____?

The ____ of the mango tree is very hard.

Tina has performed ____ in the exam.

My brother gave me a diamond ___.

There was a ____ between KKR and RCB.

Can you please ____ the tickets for me?

SBI is the largest ____ in India.

Please keep the dishes in the ____.

The Beatles were the most popular ____ of our times.

Answers 

The boy left the match in between due to the injury.

What is the time on your watch?

The bark of the mango tree is very hard.

Tina has performed well in the exam.

My brother gave me a diamond ring.

There was a match between KKR and RCB.

Can you please book the tickets for me?

SBI is the largest bank in India.

Please keep the dishes in the sink.

The Beatles were the most popular band of our times.