Do you know what a true homonym is?
Oftentimes, people get confused about the word homonym. They think it refers to a word that sounds the same as another, OR they believe it is a word that is just spelled the same as another but has a different sound.
However, as I said last week in Homonyms vs. Homophones vs. Homographs, a true homonym is a word that is spelled the same AND sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning.
The words bat, duck, and mouse are examples of true homonyms. A bat is an animal and it’s also a big stick. A duck is a bird and plus a warning to get out of the way. A mouse is an animal and it refers to a device we use with a computer.
Today I want to share with you a list of true homonyms. You are welcome to share it with your kids so that they can get an understanding of what true homonyms are. At the end of this post, I’ll tell you about a hands-on activity you can use that will enable your children to practice matching homonyms to their different definitions. In the meantime, here’s the list to get you started.
List of True Homonyms
- arm
- back
- bank
- bark
- base
- bat
- beam
- board
- bolt
- book
- bow
- box
- can
- cast
- cave
- change
- check
- chip
- clear
- close
- club
- command
- cool
- current
- crane
- dear
- deck
- down
- duck
- dust
- employ
- even
- evening
- exact
- fall
- fat
- file
- fine
- fire
- flat
- fold
- foot
- gill
- glass
- grand
- grave
- groom
- gross
- hail
- heaven
- hood
- horn
- iron
- jam
- journey
- just
- key
- kind
- lead
- left
- letter
- lie
- light
- line
- long
- lower
- match
- may
- mole
- mouse
- nail
- order
- park
- pile
- pitcher
- pole
- pound
- quarry
- reign
- remote
- right
- rock
- rocket
- rose
- route
- row
- seal
- serve
- set
- show
- shower
- sick
- sign
- sink
- spring
- square
- stall
- tank
- tear
- tie
- tire
- trip
- trunk
- wave
- watch
- well
- wind
- yard
Now if you’d like some fun, hands-on practice with homonyms for your kids to do, you might be interested in my printable Homonym Butterfly Puzzles. Your children can match 24 different homonyms to their definitions at two different difficulty levels. You also get a free, full-color, printable homonym poster to hang up in your homeschool room.
Learn more about my Homonym Butterfly Puzzles on Warm Hearts Publishing