Homonyms
Learning Unit: Clarifications
Grammar & Structure
Level C2
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Homonyms Outline
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Content
Homonyms are words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently.
Choosing the incorrect form is a common mistake made by native speakers as well,
but knowing the difference between these homonyms is a defined sign of fluency.
Learning Outcomes
• Discusswhat a homonym is and discuss any examples you already know.
• Learn new homonyms
• Complete discussion and writing activities centered around the material you
have learned.
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Definition
Homonym: A homonym is one of a group of
words that share the same spelling and
pronunciation but have different meanings.
Example: principle vs. principal
In this example, the word principle is a moral guideline or a word to describe
the most important. The word principal is the director of a school. They are
pronounced the same, yet they have distinct meanings. You can generally
determine which meaning is correct based on context.
My principal gave a speech at our graduation.
My principle goal for this year is to graduate from university.
HINT! Use memory hooks as a way to remember which word is which: My
principal is a good pal (friend)!
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Exercises
Speaking
Are there any examples of homonyms that
you can think of? See if you came up with the
same answers that appear on the next slide.
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Vocabulary
COMMON HOMONYMS
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•
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Verbs
to accept/except
to reject/reject
to beat/beet
to meet/meat
to read/reed
Business
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•
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lien/lean
principle/principal
hour/our
sale/sail
to train/train
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•
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Miscellaneous
plain/plane
aunt/ant
pane/pain
pail/pale
cellar/seller
Numbers
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none/nun
one/won
two/to/too
four/for
eight/ate
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Homonyms
in a Day-to-Day Context
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As these examples show, many commonly used
words have homonyms. Memorize them, because
you will use them a lot!
1. Verbs
to meet/meat, to read/reed, to accept/except
2. Business
principle/principal, sale/sail, to train/train
3. Numbers
one/won, two/to/too, four/for, eight/ate
4. Misc.
aunt/ant, plane/plain, pail/pale, cellar/seller
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Verb Homonyms
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Please note
Homonyms: Verbs
to accept
to permit a person or a thing
except
a preposition to denote something is not included
to reject
to not accept a person or a thing
reject
a person or a thing that is not accepted
to beat
to defeat
beet
a purple vegetable
to meet
to get to know or to
meat to
the flesh of an animal
to read
to view text
reed
a long piece of grass
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Exercises
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Speaking
Create sentences using the verb homonyms you
learned from the previous slide.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
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Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
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Business Homonyms
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Please note
Homonyms: Business
to lean
to place at an angle/move towards something
lien
a claim of another person’s assets for payment
principle
a moral guideline or a word to describe the most important
principal
the director of a school
hour
a denomination of time; 60 minutes
our
possessive pronoun of we
sale
a liquidation
to sail
the act of driving a sailboat
to train
to educate someone in preparation for a job
train
a mode of transportation with cars that moves along a track
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Exercises
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Speaking
Create sentences using the business homonyms
you learned from the previous slide.
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Number Homonyms
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Please note
Homonyms: Numbers
none
not any; zero
nun
a female position in religious hierarchy
one
a numerical value; 1
won
the simple past form of the verb to win
two
a numerical value; 2
to too
a preposition meaning towards or forward
too
adverb meaning also
four
a numerical value; 4
for
a preposition meaning to show purpose
eight
a numerical value; 8
ate
the simple past form of the verb to eat
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Exercises
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Speaking
Create sentences using the number homonyms
you learned from the previous slide.
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Miscellaneous Homonyms
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Please note
Homonyms: Miscellaneous
plane
a mode of air transportation
plain
simple; boring
aunt
the sister of one’s mother
ant
a black insect with six legs
pane
the segment of glass in a window
pain
hurt; suffering
pail
a container, generally used for water; a bucket
pale
light in color
cellar
a part of a house that is usually underground; basement
seller
a person who sells something;
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Exercises
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Speaking
Create sentences using the miscellaneous
homonyms you learned from the previous
slide.
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Grammar
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Text
1. Verbs
to read/reed, to meet/meat, to beat/beet
2. Business
to train/train, sale/sail, hour/our
3. Numbers
eight/ate, none/nun, four/for
4. Misc.
cellar/seller, pail/pale, pane/pain
Be aware that a lot of common words in English are
homonyms. Make sure you know the difference. It will make
you sound like an English expert!
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Exercises
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Writing
Choose four verbs from the vocabulary list.
Write four sentences using them properly.
1)
Sentence
2)
Sentence
3)
Sentence
4)
Sentence
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Exercises
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Speaking
Select the correct verb to complete the
sentences.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
My friends and I reject / accept / train everyone. No one is ever excluded.
Our boss has to train / sail / accept all the new employees by next week, so they
can start working.
I ate / won / rejected a sandwich for lunch yesterday.
I feel dizzy. I am going to read / beat / lean on the wall.
The boat is ready to set sail / train / meet.
I want you to read / lean / meet my sister. She’s great!
I read / meet / accept the newspaper every morning.
They accept / reject / meet all candidates that don’t meet the qualifications.
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Exercises
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Writing
Fill in the blanks using the following homonyms:
principle - principal - except - to accept - pain - pane - hour - our - train - to train
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
I just broke the window _____. My parents are going to kill me!
Everyone is going to the party _____ my girlfriend and I.
I find that the best way to travel in Europe is to take a _____.
My boyfriend and I live together. _____ apartment is quite big!
Not many people are willing _____ the theory of evolution.
My _____ gave an inspiring speech at my graduation.
I just broke my leg. I am in so much _____.
You are going to miss your flight! It leaves in an _____.
Based on _____ alone, I cannot accept this money. It’s too much!
I have _____ all the new employees this week.
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Exercises
Speaking
Role Play
Situation 1
Student A: You are the boss of a clothing
store
Student B: You are an employee at a
clothing store.
Use as many homonyms properly to
discuss your goals for the next year.
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Situation 2
Student A: You are a high school
student.
Student B: You are a high school
teacher.
Use as many homonyms properly to
discuss your opinion of your school.
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Exercises
Speaking
Write one sentence for each pair of
homonyms.
Ex. Two/to – I went to two concerts with two friends last week.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
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one/won
two/too
four/for
eight/ate
none/nun
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
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Exercises
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Writing
Decide if the sentences below are correct. Fix
the sentences that are wrong.
1)
The plane took off right on time.
3)
There are thousands of reads of grass in one field.
5)
My ant is my favorite relative, because she always spoils me.
7)
My favorite vegetable is a beet.
9)
I have won sister and ate brothers.
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Exercises
ENG_C2.0205G
Writing
Choose the correct word in parenthesis to
complete the sentences.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
_____ (ate/won) a competition at school last semester. My
_____ (principle/principal) gave me an award!
I don’t want to take the _____ (train/to train). I would much
rather _____ (sail/sale) because I like the ocean.
My brother is such a ____ (pain/pane). He broke the window
_____ (pain/pane) in my bedroom!
I’m very competitive, so I love to _____ (beat/beet) everyone,
_____ (accept/except) my little brother. I let him win.
I am very ____ (pale/pail) because I don’t go in the sun very
often. I prefer to _____ (reed/read) books inside.
I
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Exercises
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Writing
Formulate new sentences using these phrases
Ex. sailed - world - around - the - They - ! They sailed around the world!
1)
dinner – our – ate – hour - one – We - in - one - !
2)
plan – the - to – Our - on – meet – was - train - .
3)
a – to – One – nun – is - of - principle - accept - everyone - . -
4)
cellar – pane – is - the – window – in - The - broken - !
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Thank you
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We would like to thank
the following sources for their content
Text
Homonyms, Wikipedia contributors,
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?titl
e=Homonym&oldid=644319872,
Retrieved at 30.01.2015, Creative
Commons license
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Thank you
for choosing to learn
with
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