The English Language: Homonyms and Homophones
Homonyms and Homophones
Homonyms and Homophones are interesting words that have very special properties.
Homonyms
Homonyms are a set of words which are spelled the same and pronounced the same, but have different meanings.
- Jet (the object), Jet (the process of Jetting)
- Mint (a flavor of gum), Mint (the process of creating coinage)
- Organ (a musical instrument), Organ (Part of a living thing, distinct from the other parts, that is adapted for a specific function)
- Yard (a patch of grass outside of a house), Yard (a unit of measurement equaling three feet)
Homophones
Homophones are a set of words which are pronounced the same, but spelled differently.
- Cell/Sell
- Chord/Cord
- Genes/Jeans
- Hour/Our
- Moose/Mousse
- Pair/Pear/Pare
- Ware/Wear/Where
- Their/They're/There (See the "Helpful Hubs" section below for an in-depth hub on this topic)
- To/Too/Two (See the "Helpful Hubs" section below for an in-depth hub on this topic)
Words in Both Categories
Some words are both a homonym and a homophone, as noted below:
- Grate (the metal piece over a storm drain), Grate (what you do to cheese before putting it on pasta).
- Grate/Great
Helpful Hubs
- http://hubpages.com/hub/The-English-Language-TheirTheyreThere
Now, there there. *pat pat* There are few things that get on my nerves more than seeing text messages or, worse, fan fiction, wherein the author has little-to-no understanding of how to use these nifty... - http://hubpages.com/hub/The-English-Language-ToTooTwo
Ah yes. It was only a matter of time before I decided to write this article. Indeed, I see far too often writers in various fields using these tiny, tiny words incorrectly. Below you should find details about...