Homonyms - words with same spelling but different meanings

 

Many a times we come across words which have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings. Lets take for example the word bat. Bat means a flying animal and it also means an equipment used for hitting the ball as in cricket. 

Such words are called homonyms - words having same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings. The meaning changes according to the context. When you are discussing biology the other person knows that you are talking about the animal and not the cricket bat. Here we are providing a list some of the most common homonyms.

Arm - body part / division of a company

Band - a musical group / a ring

Bark - a tree's out layer / the sound a dog makes

Bat - an implement used to hit a ball / a nocturnal flying mammal

Bright - very smart or intelligent / filled with light

Circular - taking the form of a circle / a store advertisement

Current - up to date / flow of water

Express - something done fast / to show your thoughts by using words

Fair - equitable / beautiful

Jag - a sharp, jutted object / a crying spree

Kind - type / caring

Lie - to recline / to tell a falsehood

Match - to pair like items / a stick for making a flame

Mean - average / not nice

Pole - a person from Poland / a piece of metal that holds a flag

Pound - unit of weight / to beat

Quarry - a site for mining stone / to extract or obtain slowly

Ream - a pile of paper / to juice a citrus fruit

Ring - a band on a finger / something circular in shape

Right - correct / direction opposite of left

Rock - a genre of music / a stone

Rose - to have gotten up / a flower

Spring - a season / coiled metal

Stalk - a part of a plant / to follow or harass someone

Tender - gentle / offer of money

Tire - to grow fatigued / a part of a wheel

Well - in good health / a source for water in the ground

Can you remember any homonyms which are not in this list?

Please feel free to comment in the comment section.

Like homonyms, there are homophones and homographs also. We will discuss about them in a later article.

Synonyms part - 2

      

Words having the same or nearly the same meaning are called synonyms.

No two words can have the same meaning ,shades of difference always exist. 

Note- words and their synonyms must belong to the same part of speech some words and their synonyms are given below.
                                                    Synonyms
    

efficient	competent , capable, productive
elegant	refined, tasteful, dignified
elementary	basic, fundamental, primary
enhance	enrich, improve, magnify, heighten, intensify
false	untrue, spurious ,erroneous
fatal	lethal, mortal, deadly
fury	anger, rage, wrath, ire
forbid	prohibit, prevent, bar, disallow
gaiety	joyousness, happiness, mirth
genuine	true, factual, authentic
gracious	kind, polite, cordial
hostile	unfriendly, opposing, aggressive
humiliate	embarrass, disgrace, degrade
humility	modesty, politeness
ignorant	uninformed
impartial	neutral, objective, unbiased
incessant	continuous
inflexible	rigid, stiff, unbending
ingenious	clever, inventive ,resourceful
jubilant	elated, exhilarated, excited
judicious	discreet, wise

Quiz - Formation of verbs from nouns and Adjectives

 

In a previous article you learnt about the formation of verbs from nouns and adjectives.
Now lets see if you have learned properly. Here is a short quiz to check your learning.

Synonyms part - 1

Words having the same or nearly the same meaning are called synonyms.

No two words can have the same meaning ,shades of difference always exist. 

Note- words and their synonyms must belong to the same part of speech some words and their synonyms are given below.

Formation of verbs from nouns and Adjectives

Formation of verbs from nouns and Adjectives

Many a times we come across a word which is very similar to the one we already know. Chances are that it might be a form of the word that we already know. So you are already very close to the meaning and understanding. What just remains is understanding it's form. 

There are different forms of the same word. A noun or an adjective can be changed into a verb. Here is a list of the most common nouns and adjectives and their verb forms.