Name: ____________________ Date:___ / ___ /

Class: ____________________

UNIT 5: HYMONYMY
I. Choose the correct answer to complete the definitions or answer the following questions
1. Which of the following best describes the definition of homonymy?
A. Meaning is unrelated to a word's ability to denote concepts and objects.
B. Homonyms come in a language because of the convergent phonetic development of two or more
different lexical units.
C. Homonyms are words which are the same in sound and spelling, or, at least, in one of
these aspects, but different in their meanings.
D. Words borrowed from different languages also contribute to homonymy.
2. Traditionally, homonyms are classified into three types namely, homonyms proper, homophones
and………………………...
A. Full homonyms B. Homographs C. Partial homonyms D. Polysemy
3. Homonyms proper are words that are ……………..in both pronunciation and spelling.
A. Identitied B. Identify C. Identical D. recognized
4. Homophones are words that are the same sound but of ………………….spelling.
A. Same B. identical C. Traditional D. Different
5. Homographs are words that are the same in ……………..but different in sound.
A. Spell B. Spelling C. Phonic D. Phonics
6. Full lexical homonyms are words, which represent the same category of parts of speech and have
the same……………….
A. Prosperity B. Competition C. Paradigm D. Hard work
7. …………………………are words which belong to the same category of parts of speech and they
have one identical form in their paradigms.
A. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.
B. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.
C. Partial lexical homonyms.
D. Phonetic changes.
8. ………………………………….are words of different categories of parts of speech, which have
one identical form in their paradigms.
A. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.
B. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.
C. Partial lexical homonyms.
D. Phonetic changes.
9. ………….are words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only in their
original forms.

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A. Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.
B. Simple lexico-grammatical partial homonyms.
C. Partial lexical homonyms.
D. Phonetic changes.
10. ……………………..pertaining to the loss of affixes, simplification of conjunct consonants, loss
of syllables etc. affecting either one of the words or both of them lead to creation of homonymy
A. Borrowing B. Word-building C. Phonetic changes D. Split polysemy
11. Words borrowed from different languages also contribute to……………. These borrowings may
also undergo phonetic changes.
A. Borrowing B. Word-building C. Phonetic changes D. Homonymy
12. The general principle of differentiation has been the relatedness of the meanings. If the meanings
are related it is a case of………….………., if not, it is case of ………………………
A. Polysemy, Homonymy
B. Homonymy, Polysemy
C. Borrowing, Word-building
D. Word-building, Phonetic changes
13. Which is not a type of homonym?
A. Homonyms proper.
B. Homophones.
C. Split polysemy.
D. Homographs.
14. In some cases the ………………of the meaning may not be recognizable by the speakers.
A. Figurative extensions
B. Extension.
C.Figures.
D. Hymonymy
15. According to A.I. Smirnitsky, how many types can homonyms be classified into?
A. 4 B. 2 C. 5 D. 7
II. Identify the sense relation between the underlined pair of words or expressions and classify
them if possible.

Example: I hope you are not lying _(a)_ to me. (a) telling a lie
My books are lying _(b)_ on the table. (b) being in a horizontal position

1a. The kids are going to watch ……………. TV tonight. (a) small clock worn on the wrist
1b. What time is it? I have to set my watch……… . (b) look at
2a. Which page ……………..is the homework on? (a) one sheet of paper
2b. Please page……..the doctor if you need help. (b) look at
3a. Let’s play …………….soccer after school. (a) participate in a sport
3b. The author wrote a new play ……….. (b) theater piece
(a) a tiny amount
4a. Ouch! The mosquito bit ………me!
b
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4b. I’ll have a little bit …………… of sugar in my tea. a (b) past tense of bite
5a. My rabbits are in a pen_.................outside. (a) a writing instrument which uses ink
5b. Please sign this form with a black pen . (b) an enclosed area

III. Fill in the blanks using the right choice given in brackets.
1.Nobody can ......... what I tell ......... (hear / here)
2. ......... desires in our village to become a ......... (nun / none)
3. She brushed away her ......... when she learnt her booking was confirmed in three ......... A/c. (tear /
tier)
4. ......... how the ......... is tumultuous ( see/sea)
5. ......... ......... you till now? (Were / Where)
6. I have not ......... the ......... cover book till now. (red / read)
7. The house ......... was ......... to work for many hours without rest. (maid / made)
8. They ......... at the market where they buy ......... (meat / meet)
9. Last ........., she was ......... (weak / week)
10. ......... people cannot show the ......... way to success. (idle / ideal)
11. ........... and ........... are related subjects. (astrology / astronomy)
12. She said, “I shall not ....... before I ....... (dye / die)
Answer
13. She ........ on a ....... which was paved with flowers. (road / rode)
14. The ……….of animals have never ………..such a melodious music. (heard / herd)
15. A ....... teacher is always ....... of the needs of the learners. (conscientious / conscious)
16. The ........ he took ........ him. (ails / ale)
17. Japan, an ........ country, has a ....... population too. (industrious / industrial)
18. ....... people cannot show the ........ way to success. (ideal / idle)
19. There was a ....... on his dying face as he ....... his will. (signed / shine)
20. ......... people, at times, have ......... fears. (imaginative / imaginary)
IV. Choose the correct word.
Example: Please try not to (waste, waist) paper.
1. Can I go to the party (to, too, two)?
2. This is my favorite (pare, pair, pear) of jeans.
3. I (sent, scent, cent) a letter to my aunt in Vietnam.
4. The children got (bored, board) during the lecture.
5. Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez like to work in (there, they’re, their) garden.
6. Alec is going to (wear, ware) his work boots today.
7. Do you think it is going to (rein, rain, reign) this afternoon?
8. I saw a restaurant just off the (rode, road) about a mile back.
9. David’s brother is in a (band, banned) which plays Russian music.
10. Juana wants her socks because her (tows, toes) are cold.
11. The teacher walked down the (aisle, isle) between the rows of desks.
12. Hadil has a (pane, pain) in her shoulder.
13. The school (principal, principle) spoke to a group of parents.
14. The clerk wants to (sell, cell) as many TVs as possible.
15.I don’t want to talk about the (passed, past) anymore.
16. Nobody (knows, nose) what you are thinking.
17. I have (for, four, fore) dollars in my pocket.
18. I need to take a (break, brake) from this exercise!
19. Humans have hands. Dogs have (paws, pause).
20. (He’ll, Heel, Heal) be here in a few minutes.
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V. Match the words to their definitions
A B
1 . Homonyms D a. are words that are the same sound but of different
spelling.
2. Homonyms proper b. are words that are the same in spelling but
E different in sound.

3. Homophones A c. are words, which represent the same category of parts

of speech and have the same paradigm.

4. Homographs B d. are words which are the same in sound and spelling, or,
at least, in one of these aspects, but different in their
meanings.

5. Full lexical homonyms e. are words that are identical in both

C pronunciation and spelling.

6. Simple lexico-grammatical f. are words of the same category of parts of

partial homonyms K speech which are identical only in their original
forms
7. Complex lexico-grammatical g. Words borrowed from different languages also
partial homonyms i contribute to homonymy. These borrowings may
also undergo phonetic changes.
8. Partial lexical hymonyms f h. Homonyms come in a language because of the
convergent phonetic development of two or more
different lexical units. Most of the homonyms in a
language have their origin in this way.
9. Borrowing g i. Are words of different categories of parts of
speech, which have one identical form in their
paradigms
10. Phonetic changes h k. Are words which belong to same catetogory of
parts of speech and they have one identical form in
their paradigms

VI. Answer these following questions:

1 . What is homonymy? What is polysemy? Give examples to illustrate.Give differences
between them.
Homonymy is the state or quality of a given word’s having the same spelling and the same
sound or pronunciation as another word, but with a different meaning
a. My dog would always bark at mailmen.
b. The tree’s bark was a rusty brown.
Polysemy is the existence of several connected meanings within a
word as the result of the development or changes of the
original meaning.
a. The newspaper got wet in the rain.
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b. The newspaper fired some of its editing staff……
 -The general principle of differentiation has been the relatedness of the meanings. If the
meanings art related it is a case of polysemy, if not, it is a case of homonymy.
-Synchronic consideration has the intuition of the speakers of the language as its basis.
-The speakers may establish relatedness of meaning where there is none etymologically. We have
noted the cxample of ear earlier.
-The speaker may find the meanings unrelated in spite of the fact that these are derived form the
same source.
-In some cases the figurative extensions of the meaning may not be recognizable by the speakers.
e.g. He has a lot of stock in the warehouse.
He sells stocks and bonds.
He feeds the stock on his farm well.…

2. What is homonyms? What is homophones? Give examples. Give differences between them.
Homonyms are words which are the same in sound and spelling, or, at least, in one of these
aspects, but different in their meanings.
For example, -The dog began to bark when we were carving our initials in the bark of the tree.
- "We eat what we can, and what we can't eat we can"
Homophones are words that are the same sound but of different spelling.
For example:
air - heir; arms - alms;
buy-by; him - hymn;
knight - night; not - knot; or oar and many others.
Homophones are often used to create puns and to deceive the re or to suggest multiple
meanings.
e.g. "My daughter has arranged a little piece for the piano." "Good! It's about time we had a little
peace!"
Homophones are words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have distinct meanings.
In contrast, homonyms are words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but different
meanings. For instance, "flower" and "flour" are homophones because they sound the same but
have different spellings and meanings. Conversely, the words "bat" (an animal) and "bat" (an
object used in sports) are homonyms because they have the same spelling and pronunciation but
different meanings.
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