List of English homographs

Homographs are words with the same spelling but having more than one meaning. Homographs may be pronounced the same (homonyms), or they may be pronounced differently (heteronyms, also known as heterophones).

Some homographs are nouns or adjectives when the accent is on the first syllable, and verbs when it is on the second. When the prefix "re-" is added to a monosyllabic word, the word gains currency both as a noun and as a verb.

Most of the pairs listed below are closely related: for example, "absent" as a noun meaning "missing", and as a verb meaning "to make oneself missing." There are also many cases in which homographs are of an entirely separate origin, or whose meanings have diverged to the point that present-day speakers have little historical understanding: for example, "bat". Many, though not all of these, have first syllables that evolved from Latin. Also, some words only exhibit stress alternation in certain dialects of English. For a list of homographs with different pronunciations (heteronyms) see List of homographs.

Polysemes

Polysemes are words that at one time described an activity but later acquired other meanings as well, such as those engaged in the activity, the product of the activity, the place or time where the activity occurs or a verb concerning the activity. Here are some examples:

External links

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List of English homographs

Polysemes

See also

External links