Homonyms Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The phenomenon is polysemy.

Polysemy is the case of one word having several related meanings, all derived from a common core. 'Head', for example, can mean the top part of the body, the leader of an organisation or the top of a page, and all these senses are connected by the idea of 'top' or 'chief'.

Homonymy and homonyms are different words that happen to share a form but have unrelated meanings, such as 'bank' of a river and 'bank' for money. A homograph is a word spelled like another but different in meaning and often in pronunciation, such as 'lead' (metal) and 'lead' (guide).

Answer: B

It is known as homonymy.

Homonymy is the relation between words that are identical in both sound and spelling but unrelated in meaning, such as 'bat' (the animal) and 'bat' (used in cricket), or 'bank' of a river and a 'bank' for money.

Homophones share only the sound and differ in spelling ('right' and 'write'). Homographs share only the spelling and may differ in sound ('lead' the metal and 'lead' to guide). Polysemy is one word with several related meanings, whereas homonymy involves unrelated meanings.

Answer: B

It is sense.

Sense is meaning. Cents are coins, and the two are pronounced identically.

Answer: A

It is wait.

To wait is to stay until someone comes. Weight is heaviness, and the two are pronounced identically.

Answer: B

It is aloud.

Aloud means out loud. Allowed is the past tense of allow, and the two are pronounced identically.

Answer: A

It is muscle.

Muscle is the tissue that exercise builds. A mussel is a shellfish, and the two sound the same.

Answer: A

It is berth.

A berth is a ship's mooring place, and to give a wide berth is to keep well clear. Birth is being born, and the two sound the same.

Answer: A

It is suite.

A suite is a set of rooms, and it is pronounced sweet - from the French, the same word as suit. Sweet is the taste.

Answer: A

Only sentence I is correct.

Opposite means contrary, which is right in the first sentence. The second needs apposite, meaning apt or fitting - and it is spelt aposite there besides. Interchanging the two words would not help, since apposite is not among them.

Answer: B

It is sea.

The sea is the body of water surrounding an island. To see is to perceive with the eyes, and the two are pronounced alike.