What is the same word but different meaning

There are many aspects of the English language that might be described as tricky, or even vexatious. Among these are the large number of words that are spelled differently but which sound the same. Or all the words which are spelled the same but don’t sound the same at all. Or the fact that there is a single word which describes these two very different types of words. Welcome to homophones, homographs, and homonyms.

Homophones vs. Homographs vs. Homonyms

Here is the simplest explanation we can give for each of these words:

Homophones are words that sound the same but are different.

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but are different.

Homonyms can be homophones, homographs, or both.

Here is a slightly less simple explanation for each of these words:

Homophones are words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling. These words may be spelled differently from each other (such as to, too, and two), or they may be spelled the same way (as in quail meaning ‘to cower’ and quail meaning a type of bird).

Homographs are words that are spelled alike but are different in meaning or derivation or pronunciation. Sometimes these words sound different (as in the bow of a ship, and the bow that shoots arrows), and sometimes these words sound the same (as in quail meaning ‘to cower’ and quail meaning a type of bird).

Homonym may be used to refer to either homophones or to homographs. Some people feel that the use of homonym should be restricted to words that are spelled alike but are different in pronunciation and meaning, such as the bow of a ship and the bow that shoots arrows.

Tricks for Keeping them Apart

If you would like to distinguish between these words but have trouble remembering their differences, etymology can be of assistance. All of these words are formed with the combining form homo-, meaning “one and the same; similar; alike,” and each has an additional root that sheds light on the word’s meaning. Homophone comes from the Greek -phōnos (meaning “sounding”); homograph is from the Greek graphein (“to write”); homonym is from the Greek onyma (meaning “name”).

To understand this better, let us look at some examples:

CLEAN

1. The cottage needs a good clean.
2. He clean forgot about dropping the letters in the post box.
3. The entertainment was good clean fun for the whole family.
4. He cleaned up his act and came off drugs.

In the above example, we have used the word clean and used it in 4 different sentences, each signifying a different meaning, along with its usage as different parts of speech.

Sentence A — The cottage needs a good clean. The word clean in this sentence means the act or an instance of cleaning. Since this is an act, hence it is a noun.

Sentence B — He clean forgot about dropping the letters in the post box. The meaning of the word clean in this sentence is completely, and since it is modifying the word forgot which a verb (action word) is, it is an adverb.

Sentence C — The entertainment was good clean fun for the whole family. In this case, the meaning of the word clean is fit for everyone, nothing obscene. The word in this case is modifying fun, which is a noun; hence the word here is an adjective.

Sentence D — He cleaned up his act and came off drugs. In this case the word cleans means to rid of undesirable features. Clean has been used to denote an action, and hence in this case it is a verb.

LIGHT

1. The new lamp had good light for reading.
2. Magnesium is a light metal.
3. Rahul likes to travel light.
4. The choice lighted on me.

Sentence A — The new lamp had good light for reading. In this the word light is being is used to mean a particular quality or type of light. And also it has been used as a noun.
Sentence B — Magnesium is a light metal. In this the word is used to mean having relatively low density, also since it is used to describe the word metal which is a noun, it is an adjective.
Sentence C — Rahul likes to travel light. In this, the word light means little equipment, baggage, etc.
Sentence D — the choice lighted on me. In this the word light is used to denote an action thus it is verb and it means to strike or fall on.

Some of the similar kinds of words are:

LOVE

We love you. (Here, love is a verb as it is showing the action in terms of expressing an emotion)
Love is blind. (Here, Love is a noun as it is a name of an emotion)

WATER

We drink water. (Here, water is a noun as it is name of the thing)
They water the plants. (Here, water is a verb as here it means giving water to plants i.e. an action)
This is a water pipe. (Here, water is a adjective as it is describing pipe which is a noun)

ABOVE

The heavens showered blessings from above. (Here, ‘above’ is used as a noun)
She is above average in intelligence. (Here, above is a preposition as here it is showing the position or the status of the pronoun ‘she’)
Analyze the above sentence. (Here, above is an adjective as it telling something about the noun ‘sentence’)

FAST

He did not take anything during the fast. (It names something, so it is a noun)
Muslims fast during Ramazan. (This is an activity, so fast is a verb)
She speaks fast. (This becomes adverb here as it is describing a verb i.e. )

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TEST
YOUR VOCABULARY 3

56. Same
word, different meaning

In each pair of
sentences below, the missing word is the same but the meaning is different. What
are the missing words?

Answer key