Homograph: Big List of 150+ Homographs Examples

 

Homographs! What is a homograph? Travelers in west central part of the state of Wyoming encountering the Wind River may wonder if the river is so named because of the gusts of air (win d) or because the stream meanders (wine d). The possible confusion is due to the fact that the word wind is a homograph. A homograph is a word that shares the same spelling with another word but has a different meaning.

A useful list of 300+ homonyms in English from A-Z.

What Is A Homograph?

Homograph definition: In English, homographs are words with the same spelling but having more than one meaning.

Broadly speaking, there are hundreds of potential homograph in the English language. Some authorities, however, define a homograph more narrowly as also having a different pronunciation and having a different origin. This narrower definition of homograph eliminates most words that may be considered homographs because either the pronunciation is the same or the word origin is the same. Taking the stricter definition of homograph, we will review some homographs words that are often confused.

Homograph examples:

• back-back
• Capital – capital
• Drop – drop
• Invite – invite
• Lead – lead

Homograph examples – image

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List of common Homophones in English.

Commonly Confused Homographs

• Agape – (a-gayp) mouth wide open in wonder – or – (a gah pay) sacrificial love

Example: We’re left agape when considering the agape love of God’s grace.

• Bass – (bas) a species of fish – or – (bayss) a low deep voice (or low register musical instrument)

Example: After catching the bass from the river, Joe mimicked the fish talking in a deep bass voice.

• Bow (boh) a device used with an arrow; a curved shape; a type of knot – or – (b ow) the front of a ship; the polite gesture of bending at the waist

Example: After shooting a bullere with his bow, the archer made a grand bow to the audience.

• Close (klohz) to make shut – or – (klohs) being nearby

Example: As she left the house to go to the store close to the house, the woman was careful to close and lock the front door.

• Entrance (ENtrance) an entryway; act of entering – or – (enTRANCE) filled with wonder or delight

Example: The museum display will entrance the visitors the moment they come through the entrance.

• Lead (led) a type of metal – or – (leed) to start in front

Example: The city took the lead in getting the lead out of the municipal plumbing.

• Object (obJECT) to disagree – or – (OBject) an item

Example: I object to being given this object!

• Sewer (soo er) a drain for waste – or – a person who sews (this definition also applies to someone who scatters seeds)

Example: The sewer tripped and dropped their needlework into the sewer.

• Wind (wind) the moving of air – or – (wine d) to twist or wrap around

Example: The wind blew softly as we watched the river wind its way through the valley.

• Wound (woond) an injury – or – (wownd) past tense of wind (to wrap)

Example: The wound was caused by the rope wound too tightly.

Homograph Examples

List of homographs from A to Z with example sentences.

Homographs (A)

Homographs examples that start with A.

Absent

• If you’re absent more than five times, you fail the course.
• He had absented himself from the office for the day.

Abstract

• The research shows that preschool children are capable of thinking in abstract terms.
• Abstracts of about 300 words should be submitted to the conference committee who will decide which papers to accept.

Accent

• In the word ‘dinner’ the accent is on the first syllable.
• The women accent their eyes with makeup.

Address

• I can give you the address of a good attorney.
• That letter was addressed to me.

Advocate

• Those who advocate for doctorassisted suicide say the terminally ill should not have to suffer.
• She’s a passionate advocate of natural childbirth.

Attribute

• Some economists attribute much of the rising wage inequality in this country to the shift in favor of the most skilled workers.
• She spent most of the interview describing the company’s attributes to me.

Homographs (B)

Homographs examples that start with B.
Back

• I’ll be back in a minute.
• She was the one who had fired him from his first job back in South Africa.
• Anna stood with her back to the window.

Ball

• Bounce the ball and try and hit it over the net.
• My hands were balled into fists.

Band

• The band was playing old Beatles songs.
• She always ties her hair back in a band.
• Many insects are banded black and yellow.

Bank

• I worked for a bank.
• He jumped in and swam to the opposite bank.

Bar

• She was sitting at the bar.
• I ate three bars of chocolate.

Bass

• I play bass in a jazz band.
• Fresh sea bass is a great delicacy.

Bat

• I am afraid of bats.
• It’s his first time at bat in the major leagues.

Blessedca

• I can’t see a blessed thing without my glasses.
• They brought the children to Jesus and he blessed them.

Bow

• This is done with a formal bow to the king or queen.
• She had a red bow in her hair.

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Homographs (C)

Homographs examples that start with C.
Can

• Gabriella can speak French fluently.
• We drank a can of Coke each.

Capital

• Cairo is the capital of Egypt.
• You should write your name in capital letters.

Capture

• The robbery was captured on police video cameras.
• The two soldiers somehow managed to avoid capture.

Chest

• Her heart was pounding in her chest.
• In our family, we should have a medicine chest.

Clip

• They are clips from the new James Bond film.
• The wire is held on with a metal clip.

Cock

• A cock crowed as morning approached.
• He cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her.

Commune

• She lives in a commune.
• It is a place to commune with other women.

Compact

• The students’ rooms were compact, with a desk, bed, and closet built in.
• A compact was negotiated between the company and the union.

Compound

• Sulphur dioxide is a compound of sulphur and oxygen.
• A compound sentence contains two or more clauses.

Compress

• Snow falling on the mountainsides is compressed into ice.
• Apply a cold compress to the injury.

Conduct

• We are conducting a survey of consumer attitudes towards organic food.
• The Senator’s conduct is being investigated by the Ethics Committee.

Conflict

• Marx points out the potential conflicts below the surface of society.
• In other ways the activities of the councils tend to conflict with regional policy and weaken its effects.

Conscript

• Young Frenchmen were conscripted into the army and forced to fight in Algeria.
• The average number of conscripts in training has fallen from 80,000 to about 15,000.

Consort

• Both can take new consorts but only their daughter can be the new Everqueen.
• He is known to have consorted with prostitutes.

Construct

• They constructed a shelter out of fallen branches.
• The list of constructs can be endless.

Content

• The content of the media course includes scripting, editing, and camera work.
• Andy was a good husband, and Nicky was clearly very content.

Contest

• Stone decided to hold a contest to see who could write the best song.
• His wife is contesting a seat on the council.

Contrast

• While there are similarities in the two cultures, there are also great contrasts.
• Her actions and her promises contrasted sharply.

Convert

• The stocks can be easily converted to cash.
• She is a convert.

Convict

• She was convicted of shoplifting.
• There was a report on the news about an escaped convict.

Cool

• She swam out into the cool water.
• When tempers had cooled, he apologized.

Court

• Four people will appear in court today, charged with fraud.
• His campaign team has assiduously courted the media.

Homographs (D)

Homographs examples that start with D.
Date

• The date on the letter was 30th August 1962.
• She and Ron go to the park to date.

Dear

• His sister was very dear to him.
• Come along, my dear, take a seat.

Default

• The company is in default on its loan agreement.
• He defaulted on his child support payments.

Desert

• This area of the country is mostly desert.
• The village was deserted.

Dice

• We played dice all night.
• You move forward according to the number on the dice.

Digest

• Most babies can digest a wide range of food easily.
• If you’d rather receive your mail in large batches than have it trickle through, request a digest where available.

Discharge

• Sewage is discharged directly into the sea.
• Nurses visit the mother and baby for two weeks after their discharge from the hospital.

Discount

• Employees can buy books at a discount.
  We cannot discount the possibility of further strikes.

Do

• You need to do more exercise.
• We’re having a do to celebrate his 30th birthday.

Down

• The sun was going down and it would soon be dark.
• He down the coffee in one gulp.

Drop

• The apples are beginning to drop from the trees.
• A single drop of blood splashed onto the floor.

Duck

• Every afternoon they went to the park to feed the duck.
• He had to duck as he came through the door.

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Homographs (E)

Homographs examples that start with E.
Effect

• My parents’ divorce had a big effect on me.
• Many parents lack confidence in their ability to effect change in their children’s behavior.

Exploit

• Opposition leaders were quick to exploit government embarrassment over the incident.
• His courage and exploit were legendary.

Extract

• They used torture to extract information about their families.
• I’ve only seen short extract from the film.

Homographs (F)

Homographs examples that start with F.
Fall

• September had come and the leaves were starting to fall.
• The area is beautiful in the fall.

Fan

• He’s a big fan of Elvis Presley.
• He is turning on the electric fan.

Fast

• I’m early—my watch must be fast.
• Gandhi drank some orange juice to break his threeweek fast.

File

• Every file on the same disk must have a different name.
• We began to file out into the car park.

Finance

• The project will only go ahead if they can raise the necessary finance.
• He took a job to finance his stay in Germany.

Fine

• If you want to use cheese instead of chicken, that’s fine.
• Offenders will be liable to a heavy fine.

Fit

• His clothes did not fit him very well.
• You must be very fit if you do so much running.

Float

• I wasn’t sure if the raft would float.
• We stood and watched the Carnival float drive past.

Fly

• The pilot was instructed to fly the plane to Montreal airport.
• A fly was buzzing against the window.

Foot

• My foot hurts.
• Once again it will be the taxpayer who has to foot the bill.

Frequent

• She was a frequent visitor to the house.
• We met in a local bar much frequented by students.

Firm

• I’m working for a firm of accountants.
• These peaches are still firm.

Fly

• A fly was buzzing against the window.
• Let’s fly a kite.

Homographs (G-H)

Homographs examples that start with G &H.
Gay

• I didn’t know he was gay.
• We don’t see gays being beaten to death in our country because of their sexuality.

House

• Let’s have the party at my house.
• The museum is housed in the Old Court House.

Homographs (I)

Homographs examples that start with I.
Impact

• The report assesses the impact of AIDS on the gay community.
• The company’s performance was impacted by the high value of the pound.

Implant

• Prejudices can easily become implanted in the mind.
• The history of implants has been equally painful; implants can shift or turn themselves upside down.

Incense

• Incense burned in a corner of the room.
• The decision incensed the workforce.

Incline

• I incline to the view that we should take no action at this stage.
• The council houses followed the curve of the road, which wound up a slight incline.

Increase

• The population has increased from 1.2 million to 1.8 million.
• There has been a marked increase in the use of firearms.

Insert

• They inserted a tube in his mouth to help him breathe.
• These inserts fit inside any style of shoe.

Insult

• I have never been so insulted in my life!
• The crowd was shouting insults at the police.

Interchange

• The new program should help solve some of the problems of data interchange between companies with different computer systems.
• There were two identical copies of each object that were interchanged regularly between trials.

Intimate

• We’re not on intimate terms with our neighbors.
• He was a wartime minister and intimate of Churchill.

Intrigue

• There was something about him that intrigued her.
• The young heroine steps into a web of intrigue in the academic world.

Invalid

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified.
• She had been a delicate child and her parents had treated her as an invalid.

Invite

• They have invited me to go to Paris with them.
• Thanks for your invite.

Homographs (L)

Homographs examples that start with L.
Lead

• She took the lead in the second lap.
• Lead exposure can be harmful to everyone, especially young children and babies.

Learned

• We all have different learned responses to anger.
  I learned a lot from my father.

Leaves

• The plane leaves at 12.30.
• Add a few leaves of fresh basil to the salad.

Left

• Look left and right before you cross the road.
• The plane left for Dallas last night.

Letter

• There’s a letter for you.
  ‘B’ is the second letter of the alphabet.

Live

• We used to live in London.
• The club has live music most nights.

Homographs examples – image 4

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Homographs (M)

Homographs examples that start with M.
Manifest

• For the character to know and demonstrate their doom, their body must physically manifest the flaw through an impairment.
• And I can’t help seeing the manifest in any case, I’ve always been interested in it.

Match

• If you suspect a gas leak do not strike a match or use electricity.
• Her fingerprints match those found at the scene of the crime.

Mean

• What does this sentence mean?
• He needed to find a mean between frankness and rudeness.

Might

• He said he might come tomorrow.
• I pushed the rock with all my might.

Mind

• There were all kinds of thoughts running through my mind.
• I hope you don’t mind the noise.

Minute

• I’ll be back in a few minutes.
• You’d better minute that point.

Moped

• There was hardly any traffic, just a few parked cars and a cluster of mopeds around the door of the bar opposite.
• The week he died, we all sat around and moped.

Homographs (N-O)

Homographs examples that start with N & O.
Nail

• The key was hanging on a nail by the door.
• I’ve broken my nail.

Novel

• I read a lot of novels.
• What a novel idea!

Number

• My phone number is 266998.
• I number her among my closest friends.

Object

• The object of the game is to improve children’s math skills.
• His supporters will certainly object if he is fired.

Offense

• The new law makes it a criminal offense to drink alcohol in public places.
• He played offense for the Chicago Bulls.

Homographs (P)

Homographs examples that start with P.
Palm

• He held the bird gently in the palm of his hand.
• The tropical tree which grows near beaches or in deserts, with a long straight trunk and large pointed leaves at the top, is coconut palm.

Park

• We went for a walk in the park.
• They had a sheet showing a car park and also cars to cut out.

Pen

• Write your essays in pen not pencil.
• You should pen a letter to the local paper.

Perfect

• Well I’m sorry—but nobody’s perfect.
• Mock trials help students perfect their legal skills.

Perfume

• She was wearing too much perfume.
• One bloom has the power to perfume a whole room.

Pet

• They have a pet a dog.
• He did not pet it, or stroke it: he stood staring.

Plain

• The plain fact is that nobody really knows.
• The grassy plain gave way to an extensive swamp.

Play

• You’ll have to play inside today.
• On the next play, Johnson ran 15 yards for a touchdown.

Point

• He’s just saying that to prove a point.
• Everything seemed to point in one direction.

Polish

• I give it a polish now and again.
  Your essay is good, you just need to polish it a bit.

Pop

• The eight compilations range from teen pop to classical.
• I’ll pop over and see you this evening.

Present

• What can I get him for a birthday present?
• You’ve got to forget the past and start living in the present.

Produce

• They were unable to produce any statistics to verify their claims.
• The shop sells only fresh local produce.

Progress

• We have made great progress in controlling inflation.
• The course allows students to progress at their own speed.

Project

• The final term will be devoted to project work.
• They sought advice on how to project a more positive image of their company.

Punch

• These bullets can punch a hole through 20 mm steel plate.
• I managed to land a punch on his chin.

Homographs (Q-R)

Homograph examples that start with Q & R.
Quarter

• It’s a quarter past twelve.
• I peel and quarter an apple.

Race

• There is a race between the two best runners of the club.
• We race each other back to the car.

Read

• Some children can read and write before they go to school.
• I was having a quiet read when the phone rang.

Rebel

• Some parts of the country fell into rebel hands.
• Most teenagers find something to rebel against.

Recall

• She could not recall his name.
• She has amazing powers of recall.

Research

• He has carried out extensive research into renewable energy sources.
• We have to research how the product will actually be used.

Resume

• She hopes to resume work after the baby is born.
• He gave a resume of the year’s work and wished the Society another successful year.

Retake

• Government forces moved in to retake the city.
• We had to do a retake before we got it right.

Right

• I’m sure I’m right.
• Take a right turn at the intersection.

Ring

• What a beautiful ring!
• The children sat on the floor in a ring.

Rock

• Komuro formed a rock band with some friends while in college.
• To build the tunnel, they had to cut through 500 feet of solid rock.

Rose

• She has a rose garden.
• They rose from the table.

Row

• We sat in a row at the back of the room.
• A row has broken out over education.

Ruler

• I have a 12inch ruler.
• King Priam was a firm, but just ruler.

Homographs (S)

Homograph examples that start with S.
Saw

• Saw is a tool that has a long blade with sharp points along one of its edges.
• Last night, I saw a lovely girl.

Scale

• They entertain on a large scale.
• He somehow managed to scale the sheer outside wall of the tower.

Second

• This is the second time it’s happened.
• The water flows at about 1.5 meters per second.

Separate

• The school is housed in two separate buildings.
• Stir the sauce constantly so that it does not separate.

Ship

• There are two restaurants on board ship.
• The company continues to ship more computer systems than its rivals.

Sign

• Headaches may be a sign of stress.
• You forgot to sign the cheque.

Sink

• The ships sink to the bottom of the sea.
• I felt chained to the kitchen sink.

Slide

• You can slide the front seats forward if necessary.
• The economy is on the slide.

Spoke

• He drew every spoke in the wheels, and the whole affair looked as if it had been instantaneously petrified or arrested.
• I spoke to her last Wednesday.

Spring

• I’m sorry to spring it on you, but I’ve been offered another job.
• He was born in the spring of 1944.

Stalk

• He ate the apple, stalk and all.
• Snatching up my bag, I stalk out of the room.

State

• He was in a state of permanent depression.
• The Queen is on a state visit to Moscow.

Stick

• Don’t stick your fingers through the bars of the cage.
• The boys were throwing sticks and stones at the dog.

Subject

• I have nothing more to say on the subject.
• Biology is my favorite subject.

Suspect

• If you suspect a gas leak, do not strike a match or even turn on an electric light.
• He is the prime suspect in the case.

Homographs (T-W)

Homograph examples that start with T & W.
Tie

• He had to tie her hands together.
• I wear a shirt and tie at work.

Tear

• I’ll tear the package open.
• She left the room in tears.

Toast

• I’d like to propose a toast to the bride and groom.
• I had a piece of toast for breakfast.

Too

• He’s far too young to go on his own.
• “I’m feeling hungry.” – “Me too.”

Trip

• We went on a trip to the mountains.
• Someone will trip over that cable.

Type

• There are three main types of contracts.
• This letter will need to be typed again.

Watch

• I like watching TV every night.
• I glanced at my watch.

Wave

• Huge waves were breaking on the shore.
• The people on the bus waved and we waved back.

Well

• The conference was very well organized.
• The dog fell down a well.

Wind

• The wind is blowing from the south.
• Give the handle another couple of winds.

Wound

• He died from the wounds he had received to his chest.
• He had been wounded in the arm.

Homograph Examples | Pictures

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