Homophones are words that sound the same, but have different meanings and often have different spellings. For example:
- Threw out(verb “throw”) / done (verb “do”).
- opened (verb “to open”) / there would be (verb “to have”).
- Healing(priest) /healing (verb “cure”).
In orality, the meaning of homophones can be disambiguated by the context. For example:
- I miss you. / It has been very cold this winter.
- The boy widened his eyes in astonishment. / Provisions would have to be bought.
- The priest left the church. / The doctor heals the sick.
This occurs when, in addition to being pronounced the same, they are written in the same way. For example:
came(alcoholic beverage) and came(verb “come”).
Both types of phenomena are particular cases of homonymy , that is, when two words share their form, but have a different origin and their meaning is very distant. For example:
call (animal) /call (fire);hello (greeting) /wave(sea wave).- It may help you: Sentences with homophones
To take into account:
The diacritical tilde is a common way of differentiating homophones in writing, since it serves to distinguish terms that are pronounced the same, but mean different things. For example:
- dé(verb “to give”) / from(preposition);
- he(personal pronoun) / the(article);
- more(adverb) / more(conjunction);
- sé(verb “to know”) / se(pronoun).
Examples of homophones
| oh there | Interjection that usually expresses pain. | Oh , I pinched my finger in the door! |
| Conjugation of the verb “have”. | There are many bookstores to visit in my area. | |
| throw vote | Throw, throw, throw out. | I’m going to throw out the trash. |
| Cast a vote. take oaths | The deputies are ready to vote . | |
| towards Asia | Preposition indicating direction or movement. | We’ll go south . |
| Proper name of a continent. | I would like to meet Asia . | |
| silk silk yield | Type of fabric or thread. Substance secreted by some animals. | This shirt is made of natural silk . |
| Conjugation of the verb “sedar”. | If you sedate the animal, we’ll start the surgery. | |
| Conjugation of the verb “give”. | Give way to pedestrians. | |
| fits cave | Conjugation of the verb “to fit”. | All those clothes don’t fit in the suitcase. |
| Conjugation of the verb “dig”. | Even if you dig , you won’t find the treasure. | |
| goods come | Plural of “good”: heritage, flow, profit, utility. | Your parents’ house is one of your most precious assets . |
| Conjugation of the verb “come”. | Are you coming to my house tonight? | |
| do do do do | Conjugation of the verb “do”. | Do what I say and not what I do. |
| Set of light rays. Bundled with grass, firewood, or the like. | A beam of light entered through the window . | |
| Conjugation of the verb “have”. | Have you been to the doctor lately? | |
| Card of a deck. A person who excels at something. | I always have an ace up my sleeve. | |
| cause channel | Conjugation of the verb “to cause”. | I don’t think he’s amused by the news . |
| bed of rivers and streams. | The river overflowed its banks in the storm. | |
| grass boil | Small plant with a tender stem. | This is an indigenous herb from the south of the country. |
| Conjugation of the verb “to boil”. | You should not let the water boil . | |
| see see z | Conjugation of the verb “to see”. | If you close your eyes, you don’t see me . |
| Occasion or alternation of things in turn. | I remember when I first saw her . |
Sentences with homophones
- I hope there are supplies at the shelter. Is. Conjugation of the verb “to have”, it works as an auxiliary or expresses obligation or existence.
- The beech is a tree that is found in temperate climates. Is. Tree of the Fagaceae family.
- The girl cannot find her toy. Halla. Conjugation of the verb “to find”, to find, to discover.
- The aya will take care of the children tonight. Governess. Nanny or governess.
- I don’t think I ‘m going to the party because I have the flu. Wow . Conjugation of the verb “to go”, to move from one place to another, to go.
- We put a fence in the field so that the animals do not enter. fence . Conjugation of the verb “fence”, fence a site with fencing. As a noun, a construction that delimits something.
- That berry could be poisonous. berry . Type of small and fleshy fruit.
- He has always done what seemed right to him. Done. Conjugation of the verb “to do”, to produce, to manufacture, to execute, to carry out, among the most frequent uses.
- Every day I water my plants. Threw out. Conjugation of the verb “throw”, throw something, make something fall in a certain place, fire.
- This surface is easily scratched . Stripe. Conjugation of the verb “rayar”, to make lines. As a noun, line or mark.
- The man grates cheese to add to his pasta dish. Grate. Conjugation of the verb “to grate”, to crumble something with a grater.
- The word “shoe” is written with zeta . Zeta . Last letter of the alphabet.
- Walking through the forest he found a mushroom . Mushroom. Any kind of fungus.
- We will go fishing in the creek . Stream. Small flow of water that runs through a channel.
- I almost hit a cat with my bike. Stream. Conjugation of the verb “roll”, wrap something in the form of a roll; run over with a vehicle; walk over someone
- Sap is dripping from that tree. Sap. Liquid that circulates through the vessels of plants.
- My grandfather was a very wise person . wise . Feminine adjective to refer to a person who has wisdom.
- From the boat, a small key could be seen in the distance. Dropped. small island
- When I don’t know what to answer, I just shut up . Callus. Conjugation of the verb “to shut up”, to be silent, not to say something, to stop talking.
- A callus can be painful. Callus. Hardness that forms on the skin.
- Which beach are we going to today ? A. Preposition that introduces various complements and means, among other things, address.
- The a is an open vowel. A. First letter of the alphabet.
- Ah , I remember what he told me. oh Interjection denoting admiration, sorrow, surprise, emotion, among others.
- Have you been to Paris? Ha. Conjugation of the verb “to have”, works as an auxiliary or expresses obligation or existence.
- Sometimes I wear sunglasses. Use. Conjugation of the verb “to use”, to use, to make use of something. As a noun, action of using.
- What is the time zone of your region? Spindle. Parts in which the Earth is divided and that share the same time.
- If I notice it dry, I soften the dough with water before working it. softening. Conjugation of the verb “soften”, make something soft.
- I’m talking to you, do you hear me? Talking. Gerund of the verb “to speak”, to emit words, to say.
- Hello , so long! Hello. interjection to greet
- A huge wave capsized the boat. Wave. Wave that occurs on the surface of the water,
- They closed the door of the place and he couldn’t even look at what was happening inside. browse. To look at something quickly.
- I flipped through a magazine while I waited for the doctor. Leaf through. Turn the pages of a magazine, newspaper or book.
- The flag flies on the pole . Pole. Mast; horn of an animal; throw or poke
- So far we have come. Until. Preposition that indicates the limit of something or the end of a path.
- My father was born in a villar . Villar. small town
- The man is an excellent pool player . Billiards. Game in which you have to push small ivory balls with special cues.
- We will do our best to achieve the goal. Will. Conjugation of the verb “to do”, to produce, to manufacture, to execute, to carry out, among the most frequent uses.
- We’ll plow all the land before dark. Were. Conjugation of the verb “to plow”, to remove the earth with a plow making furrows.
- The sling was used for hunting. Sling. Strip of leather or braid of wool, hemp or other similar material, which is used to throw stones.
- The pool is too deep for children. Sling. Feminine adjective meaning deep.
- The shock wave from the explosion was enormous. Vibe. Elevation produced in a liquid; S-shaped curve; vibration.
- The class lasts one hour . Hour. A unit of time equal to sixty minutes.
- Pray you accept what life gives you, pray you keep resisting. Pray. Disjunctive conjunction that unites two or more elements presenting them as alternatives.
- The priest prays in the chapel. Pray. Conjugation of the verb “pray”, pray, beg.
- We must anchor the entire coast for the tourist season. Buoy. Place buoys in a sea or river.
- The hail will eventually dent my car. Dent. Make dents.
- Just as he opened the door, the phone rang. She opened . Conjugation of the verb “open”, discover what is closed or hidden, separate a window or a door from the frame, open a bolt.
- If I had known you were already here, I would have come sooner. There would be. Conjugation of the verb “to have”, it works as an auxiliary or expresses obligation or existence.
- The boy was afraid during the movie. He got. Conjugation of the verb “to have”, to possess, to hold onto something.
- The water tube is clogged. Tube . Hollow cylindrical piece open at the ends.
For example, in America there is no difference between the pronunciation of s , c and z . That’s why,
deer (animal) and servant (slave) are homophones. However, this is not the case in certain areas of world, where the s and c in their soft sound have different pronunciations. The same happens with the digraph ll and the y . In some countries, wow (verb “to have”) and fence(fenced) will be homophones, while in others they will not.
