Homonyms

Homonyms are words that are spelled the same and pronounced the same, but have different meanings. Native speakers usually know what is meant based on the context, but imagine the confusion of someone trying to learn the language for the first time!

• A tire is the round rubber thing on a car or what happens to you if you stay awake too long.
• A bat can be a flying mammal or what you use to hit a baseball.
• Change can mean “to alter” or it can be money you get back after a purchase.
• A deck is what you shuffle on poker night or it could be where you relax with a glass of wine on a summer evening.
• A groom is half of the special pair at a wedding or how you keep your horse healthy.
• Gross is excessively icky or it’s twelve dozen of something.
• Hail is chunks of ice falling from the sky or it’s a way to get a taxi.
• Fall is what happens if you don’t watch where you’re going and it’s my favorite season of the year.
• Light can help you see in the dark, be the opposite of heavy, or a way to make your fireworks do something interesting.
• Well can be how you feel after recovering from an illness or it can be the source of your drinking water.
• Bark is what a dog does when a stranger approaches or it’s the protective outer layer of a tree.