Different pronunciations same word

read – /riːd/ (the same as “reed”) means to perceive information provided in a written form; /rɛd/ (the same as “red”) is the past tense of the verb “to read”.

live – to /lɪv/ (rhyming with “give”) is a verb meaning “to be alive” /əˈlaɪv/; /laɪv/ (rhyming with “dive”) is an adjective meaning “being alive”.

wind – /wɪnd/ (rhyming with “pinned”) is a movement of air (it can also be a verb meaning “to blow to a wind instrument”); to /waɪnd/ (rhyming with “kind”) is a verb meaning “to turn, especially something around something else”. For example, a river or a way can “wind” /waɪnd/, or you can wind /waɪnd/ a wire around a coil.

wound – a /wuːnd/ (rhyming with “spooned”) is an injury; /waʊnd/ (rhyming with “sound”) is the past tense of the verb “wind” (/waɪnd/, see above).

tear – to /tɛə/ (UK), /tɛr/ (US) (rhyming with “fair”) means “to rip a solid material” (a /tɛə/ (UK), /tɛr/ (US) is a hole caused by tearing /tɛrɪŋ/); a /tɪə/ (UK), /tɪr/ (US) (rhyming with “dear”) is a water drop coming from someone’s eyes.

bow – a /bəʊ/ (UK), /boʊ/ (US) (rhyming with “snow”) is a medieval weapon or a device used to play the violin and other bowed /bəʊd/ (UK), /boʊd/ (US) (like “boat”) instruments (it can also be a verb meaning “to become bent” or “to play a bowed instrument”); to /baʊ/ (rhyming with “cow”, pronounced the same as “bough”) is a verb meaning “to bend oneself in a gesture of showing respect”.

row – /rəʊ/ (UK), /roʊ/ (US) (rhyming with “low”) is a line of objects (or a verb meaning “to propel a boat in water a using oars”); a /raʊ/ (rhyming with “cow”) is a noisy argument (to /raʊ/ means “to argue noisily”). (Also, J. K. Rowling is pronounced /rəʊlɪŋ/)

sow – to /səʊ/ (UK), /soʊ/ (US) (the same as “so”) means “to scatter plant seeds” (you can sow a field, for example) and it is pronounced exactly the same as “to sew” (i.e. as “so”, not as “Sue”) meaning “to use thread and a needle to join two pieces of fabric”; a /saʊ/ (rhyming with “cow”) is a female pig.

sewer – a /ˈsuːə/ (UK), /ˈsuːər/ (US) (rhyming with “newer”) is a pipe used to remove liquid human waste; a /ˈsəʊə/ (UK), /ˈsoʊər/ (US) (rhyming with “lower”) is someone who sews (/səʊz/ (UK), /soʊz/ (US), see above).

close – to /kləʊz/ (UK), /kloʊz/ (US) (rhyming with “doze”) is the opposite of the verb “open”; /kləʊs/ (notice the “s” at the end) is an adjective meaning “near”.

excuse – to /ɪkˈskjuːz/ or /ɛksˈkjuːz/ (rhyming with “lose”) means to forgive somebody for something that they have done; an /ɪkˈskjuːs/ or /ɛksˈkjuːs/(rhyming with “juice”, notice the “s” at the end) is an explanation designed to avoid negative judgement.

Polish – to /ˈpɒlɪʃ/ (UK), /ˈpɑlɪʃ/ (US) (beginning like ”pot”) means “to make a surface smooth”; /ˈpəʊlɪʃ/ (UK), /ˈpoʊlɪʃ/ (beginning like “Poe” (Edgar Allan, the writer)) refers to the language or the nation based in Poland /ˈpəʊlənd/ (UK), /ˈpoʊlənd/ (US).

lead – to /liːd/ (rhyming with “seed”) means “to guide or conduct” (/liːd/ can also be a noun meaning “the act of leading”); /lɛd/ (rhyming with “red”) is a chemical element with the symbol “Pb” (“plumbum” in Latin).

graduate – a /ˈɡrædʒuət/ (with “oo-ət” at the end) is a person holding an academic degree; to /ˈɡrædʒueɪt/ (rhyming with “late”) means to obtain an academic degree. Notice that although the pronunciation is different, there is no difference in stress position.

does – /dʌz/ (rhyming with “fuzz”) is the third person of the verb “to do”; /dəʊz/ (UK), /doʊz/ (US) (the same as “doze”) is the plural form of the noun “doe” (a female deer).

bass – a /beɪs/ (like “phase” but with “s” at the end, not “z”) is the lowest voice in a harmony (/beɪs/ is also an adjective meaning “low sounding”); a /bæs/ is a member of a certain species of fish.

number – /ˈnʌmbə/ (UK), /ˈnʌmbər/ (US) (rhyming with “lumber”) is a mathematical object, such as 1, 65536, 3.1415; /ˈnʌmə/ (UK), /ˈnʌmər/ (US) (rhyming with “summer”) means “more numb” (numb is pronounced /nʌm/).

dove – a /dʌv/ is a bird related to pigeons; /dəʊv/ (UK), /doʊv/ (US) is a non-standard form of the past tense of the verb “to dive” used in some dialects (the standard one is “dived”).

drawer – /ˈdrɔː/ (UK) (the same as “draw”), /ˈdrɔːr/ (US) (rhymes with “more”) is a piece of furniture. Note that there are British dialects in which the “er” is pronounced as /ə/ and American dialects in which the word is pronounced as “draw”. /ˈdrɔːə/ (UK) (like “draw-uh”), /ˈdrɔːər/ (US) (like “draw-uhrr”) is a person who draws.

house – a /haʊs/ (rhymes with “mouse”) is a building; to /haʊz/ (rhyming with “cows”) means “to provide a place for somebody to live”.

use – to /juːz/ (rhyming with “fuze”) means “to utilize”; a /juːs/ (rhyming with “goose”) is a way in which something is used.

9