Homographs in English Grammar – Definition, Types, Examples, Practice Questions & Answers

 

Homographs in English Grammar – Definition, Types, Examples and Practice

Homographs are words that have the same spelling but have different meanings. Some homographs have the same pronunciation, while others have different pronunciations.

What Are Homographs?

The word Homograph comes from two Greek words:

• Homo = Same
• Graph = Writing or Spelling

Therefore, a homograph is a word that has the same spelling but a different meaning.

Example

The word Bat has two different meanings:

Bat = a flying animal

Bat = an object used to hit a ball in cricket or baseball

Examples:

A bat flew out of the cave.

He bought a new cricket bat.

Important Features of Homographs

• They have the same spelling.
• They have different meanings.
• Some are pronounced the same.
• Some are pronounced differently.
• The meaning can be understood from the context of the sentence.

Types of Homographs

1. Homographs with the Same Pronunciation

Some homographs have the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings.

Example: Bank

I deposited money in the bank.

We sat on the river bank.

In the first sentence, bank means a financial institution. In the second sentence, bank means the side of a river.

2. Homographs with Different Pronunciation

Some homographs have the same spelling but different pronunciations and meanings.

Example: Lead

She will lead the team.

Here, lead means to guide and is pronounced like leed.

The pipe contains lead.

Here, lead means a type of metal and is pronounced like led.

Common Homographs with Examples

No.	Homograph	Meaning 1	Meaning 2
1	Bat	A flying animal	Sports equipment
2	Bank	Financial institution	Side of a river
3	Bark	Sound made by a dog	Outer covering of a tree
4	Book	A written work	To reserve something
5	Can	To be able to do something	A metal container
6	Change	Money returned after payment	To make something different
7	Club	A group or organization	A heavy stick
8	Crane	A large bird	A machine used for lifting
9	Date	A particular day	A sweet fruit
10	Duck	A type of bird	To lower the head or body
11	Fair	Just or reasonable	An exhibition or festival
12	File	A collection of documents	A tool used for smoothing
13	Fly	To move through the air	An insect
14	Jam	A fruit spread	A situation where movement is blocked
15	Kind	A type or sort	Helpful or caring
16	Left	Past tense of leave	Opposite of right
17	Light	Brightness	Not heavy
18	Match	A contest or game	A small stick used to make fire
19	Nail	Metal object used for fixing	Part of a finger or toe
20	Park	A public green area	To leave a vehicle somewhere
21	Pen	A writing instrument	An enclosure for animals
22	Point	A sharp end	An idea or detail
23	Ring	A circular piece of jewellery	A sound made by a bell or telephone
24	Rock	A stone	To move from side to side
25	Spring	A season	To jump suddenly
26	Watch	A timepiece	To look carefully
27	Wave	Movement of water	Movement of the hand
28	Well	A deep hole for obtaining water	In good health
29	Trip	A journey	To stumble or fall
30	Bright	Giving a lot of light	Intelligent

Detailed Examples of Homographs

1. Bark

Bark can mean the sound made by a dog.

The dog began to bark.

Bark can also mean the outer covering of a tree.

The bark of the tree is rough.

2. Bat

Bat can mean a flying animal.

A bat flew out of the cave.

Bat can also mean sports equipment.

He bought a new cricket bat.

3. Bank

Bank can mean a financial institution.

I went to the bank to deposit money.

Bank can also mean the side of a river.

The children sat on the river bank.

4. Book

Book can mean a written work.

I bought a new book.

Book can also mean to reserve something.

We will book a hotel room.

5. Light

Light can mean brightness.

Please turn on the light.

Light can also mean something that is not heavy.

This bag is very light.

6. Left

Left can mean the opposite of right.

Turn left at the next road.

Left can also be the past tense of the verb leave.

She left the classroom.

7. Match

Match can mean a contest or game.

We watched a cricket match.

Match can also mean a small stick used to make fire.

He lit the candle with a match.

8. Park

Park can mean a public green area.

The children are playing in the park.

Park can also mean to leave a vehicle in a particular place.

Please park the car here.

9. Watch

Watch can mean a timepiece.

My watch is new.

Watch can also mean to look at something carefully.

Please watch the movie carefully.

10. Wave

Wave can mean a movement of water.

A huge wave hit the beach.

Wave can also mean moving the hand from side to side.

She gave me a friendly wave.

Homographs with Different Pronunciations

Some homographs are spelled in the same way but are pronounced differently. Their meanings are also different.

Word	Pronunciation 1	Meaning 1	Pronunciation 2	Meaning 2
Lead	leed	To guide	led	A type of metal
Wind	wind	Moving air	waind	To turn or twist
Bow	boh	Front of a ship	bau	To bend forward
Row	roh	A line of things	rau	An argument
Minute	min-it	Sixty seconds	my-noot	Very small
Object	OB-ject	A thing	ob-JECT	To disagree
Present	PREZ-ent	Gift or current time	pri-ZENT	To give or show
Record	REK-ord	Stored information	ri-KORD	To store information
Refuse	REF-yoos	Waste material	ri-FYOOZ	To reject
Produce	PRO-doos	Farm products	pro-DYOOS	To make

Homographs and Homophones

Homographs	Homophones
Same spelling	Same pronunciation
Different meanings	Different meanings
Pronunciation may be the same or different	Spelling is generally different
Example: bat – bat	Example: right – write
Example: lead – lead	Example: sea – see

Practice Questions on Homographs

Choose the correct meaning of the word in bold.

1. The bat flew out of the cave.
2. He hit the ball with a bat.
3. She deposited money in the bank.
4. We sat on the river bank.
5. The dog began to bark.
6. The tree has rough bark.
7. Please book a ticket.
8. I am reading a book.
9. Turn on the light.
10. This bag is very light.

Answers

1. Bat = a flying animal
2. Bat = sports equipment
3. Bank = financial institution
4. Bank = side of a river
5. Bark = sound made by a dog
6. Bark = outer covering of a tree
7. Book = reserve something
8. Book = written work
9. Light = brightness
10. Light = not heavy

Fill in the Blanks

1. The children played in the ________. (park)
2. Please ________ the car near the gate. (park)
3. I bought a new ________. (watch)
4. Please ________ the movie carefully. (watch)
5. The fisherman sat on the river ________. (bank)
6. I went to the ________ to withdraw money. (bank)
7. She gave me a friendly ________. (wave)
8. A huge ________ hit the beach. (wave)
9. He lit the candle with a ________. (match)
10. We watched a cricket ________. (match)

Answers

1. park
2. park
3. watch
4. watch
5. bank
6. bank
7. wave
8. wave
9. match
10. match

Quick Revision

Homographs = Same Spelling + Different Meanings

• Bat – animal / sports equipment
• Bank – financial institution / river side
• Bark – sound of a dog / tree covering
• Book – written work / reserve
• Light – brightness / not heavy
• Match – contest / fire-making stick
• Park – public place / leave a vehicle
• Watch – timepiece / look carefully
• Wave – water movement / hand movement
• Left – opposite of right / past tense of leave

Conclusion

Homographs are an important part of English vocabulary and grammar. They have the same spelling but different meanings. Some homographs have the same pronunciation, while others have different pronunciations.

Understanding homographs helps students improve their vocabulary, spelling, reading, writing and pronunciation skills. Students should always understand the meaning of a homograph from the context of the sentence.