Homophones Homonyms And Homographs

Which sentence uses the correct word? My friends are waiting over ____.

• their

• there

• they're

• thar

Answer explanation

The correct word is 'there,' which indicates a place. 'Their' is a possessive pronoun, and 'they're' is a contraction for 'they are'.

Sort these sentences based on the meaning of the homonym 'bat'. The categories are: Sports Equipment or Flying Mammal.

Groups:

(a) Sports Equipment

,

(b) Flying Mammal

• I need a new bat for the baseball game.

• He swung the bat and hit a home run.

• A bat flew out of the cave at dusk.

• The little brown bat is common in this area.

Answer explanation

The sentences are sorted by the two different meanings of the homonym 'bat': a piece of sports equipment used in baseball, and a nocturnal flying mammal.

In the sentence, 'The soldier swore he would not desert his team,' what does the word 'desert' mean?

• A dry, sandy place

• A sweet food served after a meal

• To abandon or leave behind

• To be worthy of something

Answer explanation

In this context, the homograph 'desert' (pronounced di-ZURT) is a verb meaning to abandon. The noun 'desert' (DEZ-ert) refers to a dry region.

Match each homophone pair to the sentence that correctly uses one of the words.

• I already ___ the answer to that question.

• ate / eight

• From the cliff, you can ___ the entire bay.

• knew / new

• My little sister just turned ___ years old.

• buy / by / bye

• I have to go now, so I'll say good___.

• see / sea

Answer explanation

Each sentence requires a specific homophone to be correct: 'knew' (past tense of know), 'eight' (the number), 'see' (to view with eyes), and 'bye' (a farewell).

Read the sentence: 'The county fair had a Ferris wheel and lots of food stalls.' Which meaning of 'fair' is being used?

• Treating people equally

• Light in color, like hair or skin

• An outdoor event for entertainment

• Neither good nor bad; average

Answer explanation

The context of a 'Ferris wheel' and 'food stalls' indicates that 'fair' refers to a public event or festival, which is one meaning of this homonym.

Which word correctly completes the sentence? 'I have ___ many video games to play this weekend.'

• to

• too

• two

• tew

Answer explanation

The correct word is 'too,' which means 'also' or 'excessively.' 'To' is a preposition, and 'two' is the number 2.

Sort these word pairs into the correct category: Homophones or Homographs.

Groups:

(a) Homophones

,

(b) Homographs

• their / there

• flour / flower

• read / read

• lead / lead

Answer explanation

Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently (flour/flower, their/there). Homographs are spelled the same but may have different meanings and pronunciations (lead/lead, read/read).

Which sentence uses the homograph 'bow' to mean bending at the waist?

• She tied a red bow in her hair.

• The archer raised his bow and arrow.

• The performers will bow after the show.

• The ship's bow cut through the waves.

Answer explanation

In this sentence, 'bow' (rhymes with 'cow') is a verb meaning to bend forward as a sign of respect. The other options use 'bow' (rhymes with 'go') as a noun.

Match the homograph to the sentence that shows one of its meanings.

• Don't stand so ___ to the edge of the cliff.

• bass

• The concert will be broadcast ___ on TV.

• live

• Please ___ up the kite string before we go.

• close

• He plays the ___ guitar in a rock band.

• wind

Answer explanation

Each sentence uses a specific pronunciation and meaning of the homograph: 'wind' (rhymes with 'find'), 'live' (rhymes with 'hive'), 'close' (rhymes with 'dose'), and 'bass' (rhymes with 'base').

Choose the correct words to complete the sentence: '___ going to be late if ___ car doesn't start.'

• Your / you're

• You're / your

• Your / your

• You're / you're

Answer explanation

The first blank needs 'You're' (you are). The second blank needs the possessive 'your' to show ownership of the car.