Homographs are words with two different pronunciations, and different meanings. This particular list of homographs has some words that could cause some confusion if you aren’t aware of them.
Listen carefully to how these words are pronounced.
bass – a kind of fish
bass – the low notes in music (a homonym of “base”)
bow – to bend over
bow – loops made with ribbon or the stick part of a violin
buffet – to hit or strike
buffet – a meal with many dishes self-served
does – 3rd person singular of “to do”
does – female deer (plural) (a homonym of “doze”)
dove – a kind of bird
dove – past tense of the verb “to dive”
desert – to abandon (a homonym of “dessert”)
desert – a dry area of land
invalid – not valid
invalid – a person who is disabled
live – the verb meaning to be alive
live – the adjective meaning not dead
lead – to show the way
lead – a kind of metal (Pb) (a homonym of “led”)
minute – 60 seconds
minute – very small
mow – to cut grass
mow – a stack of hay
polish – to make clean and shiny
Polish – from Poland
resume – to start again
resume – a summary of experience
read – to understand written words
read – the past tense of “to read” (a homonym of “red”)
sewer – drain pipes for waste water
sewer – a person who sews
slough – to shed old tissue
slough – a swampy area of land
sow – to plant seeds
sow – a female pig
tear – to rip
tear – water produced by the eyes
wind – air movement
wind – to turn or twist something
wound – past tense of wind
wound – an injury
Pay attention to the vowel sounds in these words so that you can say the right pronunciation for the right meaning!
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