Hello listeners and welcome back to the English with Neil Learn English podcast.
How is everyone doing today?
In this episode, I'm going to teach you something called a homograph.
Now, homographs are very interesting.
They are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations.
I made a video about six months ago about homophones.
So homophones are a little different.
Homophones have the same pronunciation, but different meanings and different spelling.
So an example of a homophone is right.
So right can be R-I-G-H-T, like the direction right, and you also have right, like the verb to write with a pen.
That's an example of a homophone, but a homograph words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations, and this can be a little confusing.
But I'm going to share ten homographs in this episode and i think you'll understand what i mean.
So let's start with number one, p-a-r-k park.
Now this word park can describe a place where children play.
Children play in the park.
You can also use park to stop your vehicle right, like i parked my car in the parking lot.
So you see, this word park has the same.
This particular word park has the same pronunciation but has two different meanings.
The second one is the word bat.
Bat.
B-A-T.
So bat can describe an animal the, you know the animal that flies, and we we talk about bats during halloween, but a bat is also a type of sports equipment that we use to play baseball.
So bat the animal and bat the sporting equipment.
Now number three.
Number three is very interesting.
B-A-S-S.
Now, this word has the same spelling as the other one, but two different pronunciations and two different meanings.
So let me explain.
BASS.
This can be pronounced as bass.
Bass.
Like the fish.
Bass.
I went bass fishing.
Or we can pronounce this word as bass, like a bass guitar.
You see, so this word has, it's B-A-S-S.
It can be pronounced as bass the fish, or bass the musical instrument.
You see, all right, let's go to number four.
Number four is the same thing.
M i n?
U-T-E.
This word also has two pronunciations and two different meanings.
Number one is minute.
If something is minute, that means it is very small.
Minute.
So this word describes a size.
But we also have minutes.
It's totally different, right?
Minute and minute.
Minute meaning time.
One minute, two minute.
So sometimes when you're reading these, you're like is this pronounced minute, or is it pronounced minute?
Usually you can know the pronunciation by the context.
Context means the surrounding words.
So sometimes you just have to get used to these words, but you can usually understand them by their context.
The next word.
C-R-A-N-E.
Crane.
Now this only has one pronunciation but two different meanings.
Crane.
A crane can be a bird.
There's a bird called a crane.
And the other word crane can describe the machine used to build a house or a building, that large piece of equipment that has, I think, there's a ball and a hook under it, as called a crane.
So crane the bird and crane the machinery.
Okay, this next word, T-E-A-R.
This has two pronunciations and two different meanings.
So number one is tear.
Tear, like a teardrop is something that is water that comes from your eyes when you're crying.
You have a tear in your eye.
This other pronunciation is tear.
Tear means to rip something.
So you tear a piece of paper.
So you have tear and tear.
Same spelling, different meaning, different pronunciation.
Number seven is BOW.
This also has this has one pronunciation, but two different meanings.
So one is bow.
Bow is is something that you can shoot with a bow and arrow.
A bow is also used in archery.
You can also use, excuse me, the other pronunciation of this word is bow.
Bow.
So in Japan, when people greet each other to show respect, they bow.
They lower their heads.
So you have bow and bow.
B-O-W.
Okay, this next word is S-A-W.
Saw.
Only has one pronunciation, saw.
So one meaning of saw is a tool used to cut down a tree or to cut wood.
You use a saw.
Saw is also used as the past tense of see.
As in, I saw a movie.
Okay, so saw and saw.
Okay.
Number nine, pen.
P-E-N.
This has one pronunciation, two different meanings.
So one word of pen is basically like a little cage.
I wouldn't say a cage, but we usually...
We usually put babies in something called a playpen, which is It's like a cage and you put toys in there and you put babies in there, so they won't move around the room and they can stay safe.
That's called a pen.
And the other pen, the pen we use to write with, like I wrote my name with a black pen.
So pen and pen.
And the last one that I want to talk about today is the word Miss.
M-I-S-S
You use the word miss when you're referring to a woman.
Oh, Miss Johnson, Miss Miss Harriet.
So that's a title for a woman.
But you can also use miss as when you overlook something like, oh, I missed.
I missed the train or I missed my flight.
Oh, I missed it.
I made a mistake.
These are some examples of homographs and there are many, many more.
These are just 10.
I just wanted to give you guys an overview of what they are.
So when you see them, You know what they are.
And like I said, some of these words have only one pronunciation, but some of them have two.
And the only way you will know the difference is through context, the words around it, or just memorization.
Some of these words you just have to memorize them as you learn new words.
So today guys, you learned about homographs, so i hope you guys enjoyed today's lesson.
Thank you again for tuning in to the english with neil podcast.
I look forward to speaking with you in the next one.
Take care everyone, and talk to you soon.
Peace.