Examples of common homonyms include "bill," "bark," "exact," "fawn," "fine," "left," "order," "trip" and "wave." These are words that have the same spelling and are pronounced the same, but have different meanings. For example, a bill can refer to a part of a bird or monetary amount a person has to pay.Continue Reading
Homonyms can have several unrelated meanings. For example, the word "exact" is a homonym because it can be used as a synonym for "accurate" or as a verb meaning "to inflict revenge." "Fawn" can refer to a young deer or a color. The word "left" can be used to state that someone has gone away or as an antonym for "right." "Trip" can mean "to fall" or "a vacation," while "fine" can describe something that has a high quality or as a noun meaning a penalty someone has to pay.
A homonym has two major types. One is based on the fact that the meanings of the word have a historical connection. For example, the word "leg" can mean the leg of a person or the leg of a chair. Both meanings derived from the same word and can have similarities. Other homonyms are coincidental and have no direct historical connection. One example is the word "bark," which can refer to part of a tree and the sound a dog makes.Learn more about Education