Homographs worksheet for identifying and using words with multiple meanings.

Let's solve this homograph worksheet step by step.

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What are Homographs?

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. They may or may not be pronounced the same. In this worksheet, we need to find a word that fits two different definitions and then use it in sentences with the correct meaning indicated (A or B).

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Step 1: Identify the homographs for each set of meanings

#### 1. A. where someone lives → *home*
B. to speak → *home* (as in "to home in on a topic") — wait, that doesn't fit.
Actually, let’s think:
- “Where someone lives” = home
- “To speak” = home is not correct. Let’s look for a better match.

Wait — perhaps "house"? But "to speak" doesn’t go with house.

Let’s reconsider.

Actually, a better homograph for:
- A. where someone lives → *home*
- B. to speak → Hmm... not matching.

Wait — maybe "bank"? No.

Let’s think of common homographs.

Let’s try:

1. homograph: bank
- A. where someone lives → no
- B. to speak → no

Try another approach.

Look at these common homographs:

- "bark":
- A. sound a dog makes
- B. outer layer of a tree

But that’s not on the list.

Let’s go through each pair.

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1. A. where someone lives → home

B. to speak → Not really. Wait — what if it's "address"?
- Address: place where someone lives ✔
- To speak: “He addressed the crowd” ✔

Yes! That works.

So:
> 1. homograph: address
> A. where someone lives
> B. to speak

✔

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2. A. a round toy → ball

B. to crumple tightly → ball up (e.g., ball up paper)

Yes! "Ball" can mean:
- a round toy
- to crumple into a ball

So:
> 2. homograph: ball

✔

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3. A. a place to sit and drink → bar (like a bar in a pub)

B. to forbid from → bar (as in "barred from entry")

Yes! "Bar" is a homograph.

> 3. homograph: bar

✔

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4. A. to record → record (verb: to record a song)

B. to seize and hold → record? No. That doesn’t fit.

Wait — "hold"?

Try "seize"? Not a homograph.

Wait — "hold"?

No.

Another idea: "take"?

Wait — how about "keep"?

No.

Wait — "reel"?

- A. to record → as in "reel in" or "reel-to-reel"? Not quite.

Better: "record" as a verb and noun?

Wait — actually:

- A. to record → record (verb)
- B. to seize and hold → record? No.

Wait — "hold"?

Wait — "catch"?

Not fitting.

Wait — "take"?

No.

Wait — think of "hold" — not a homograph.

Wait — "tow"?

No.

Wait — "bear"?

- Bear (to carry): "I can bear the weight"
- Bear (animal): "a bear"

But that’s not here.

Wait — "lie"?

- Lie down vs. tell a lie

But not in the list.

Wait — "right"?

- Right (correct) vs. right (direction)

No.

Wait — back to #4:

> A. to record
> B. to seize and hold

Think: "capture"? Not a homograph.

Wait — "hold"?

No.

Wait — "seize"?

No.

Wait — "reel"?

- Reel in (to record?) — no.

Wait — "take"?

No.

Wait — "log"?

- Log (to record data) → yes
- Log (a piece of wood) → but not “to seize and hold”

No.

Wait — "hold"?

Wait — what about "book"?

- Book (to reserve) → “I booked a hotel”
- Book (a written work) → but not “to seize and hold”

No.

Wait — "bind"?

- To bind = to tie up, to seize and hold?
- To record? Not really.

Wait — "lock"?

- Lock (to secure) → “lock the door”
- Lock (as in “a lock of hair”) — not “record”

No.

Wait — "save"?

- Save (to store data) → like “save a file”
- Save (to rescue) → “save a life”

Ah! That could be!

But “to record” is close to “save” in digital context.

But is “save” a homograph?

Yes — “save” means:
- to preserve (rescue) → “She saved the child”
- to store (data) → “Save the document”

But “to record” is similar to “save”.

But the second definition says “to seize and hold” — which matches “rescue”, so:

- A. to record → save (as in save a file)
- B. to seize and hold → save (as in save a person)

So yes!

But “save” is not typically considered a homograph in standard lists — more like a polysemous word.

But let’s see if there’s a better one.

Wait — "hold"?

- Hold (to possess) → “I hold the key”
- Hold (to record?) — no.

Wait — "store"?

- Store (to keep) → “store data”
- Store (a place) → “go to the store”

But “to seize and hold” is closer to “seize”, not “store”.

Wait — "grasp"?

No.

Wait — "clutch"?

- Clutch (to hold tightly)
- Clutch (a type of car part) — not “record”

No.

Wait — "record" itself?

- Record (verb): to record something → “record the event”
- Record (noun): a thing recorded → “a record of events”

But the second definition is “to seize and hold” — not matching.

Wait — maybe "keep"?

- Keep (to retain) → “keep the book”
- Keep (to maintain) → “keep the peace”

Still not “seize and hold”.

Wait — "arrest"?

No.

Wait — "take"?

- Take (to capture) → “take the prize”
- Take (to record) → “take notes”

Ah! That’s promising.

“Take” can mean:
- to record (e.g., take notes, take a photo)
- to seize (e.g., take the flag)

Yes!

So:
> 4. homograph: take
> A. to record → e.g., “take notes”
> B. to seize and hold → e.g., “take the prisoner”

Perfect.

✔

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5. A. to build → build

B. something that has been built → building

But “build” is a verb, “building” is a noun — they’re related, but not the same spelling.

Wait — the homograph must be spelled the same.

So “build” and “building” are not homographs — they’re different words.

We need a word that is spelled the same but has two meanings.

How about “structure”?

- To build → not exactly
- Something built → yes

No.

Wait — “construct”?

- To build → yes
- Something built → no

No.

Wait — “edifice”?

No.

Wait — “house”?

- To build a house → verb
- A house → noun

But “house” is not a homograph — it’s just a noun and verb.

But “house” can be used as a verb: “to house” — meaning to provide shelter.

So:
- A. to build → “to house” — not exactly
- B. something that has been built → “a house”

But “house” as a verb means “to provide shelter”, not “to build”.

So not exact.

Wait — “make”?

- Make (to build) → yes
- Make (something created) → “a make of car” — not really

No.

Wait — “build” as a verb and “build” as a noun?

Is “build” a noun?

Yes — “a new build” (a newly constructed building)

So:
- A. to build → verb
- B. something that has been built → “a build” (slang, but accepted)

So “build” can be:
- verb: to build
- noun: a construction project (e.g., “a steel-frame build”)

Yes, though informal.

But let’s see — is there a better one?

Wait — “structure”?

- Structure (to organize) → verb
- Structure (a building) → noun

Yes — “structure” is both verb and noun.

But “to build” is not exactly “to structure”.

But “structure” can mean to build or organize.

And “a structure” is something built.

So:
> 5. homograph: structure
> A. to build → “structure the building”
> B. something that has been built → “a structure”

Yes — acceptable.

But is there a better one?

Wait — “construct”?

- Construct (verb): to build
- Construct (noun): a thing built — e.g., “a mental construct”

Yes! That’s a real homograph.

“Construct”:
- Verb: to build
- Noun: something built (especially abstract)

But “something that has been built” can include physical things.

But “construct” is often used abstractly.

Still, it works.

But “build” as a noun is informal.

Wait — “edifice”?

- Edifice (noun): a large building
- Edifice (verb)? No

No.

Wait — “house”?

- House (verb): to house people
- House (noun): a building

But “to build” isn’t “to house” — it’s different.

So best bet is:

> 5. homograph: build
> A. to build → verb
> B. something that has been built → noun (e.g., “a new build”)

This is commonly used in real estate.

Or:

> 5. homograph: structure
> A. to build → “structure the project”
> B. something built → “a structure”

But let’s go with “build” — it’s simpler.

Alternatively, “construction”?

- Construction (noun): something built
- Construction (verb)? No

No.

So likely intended answer is:

> 5. homograph: build

But let’s check the most common homographs.

Wait — what about “set”?

- Set (to put) → “set the table”
- Set (a group) → “a set of books”

But not “to build” or “built”.

No.

Wait — “form”?

- Form (to create) → “form a committee”
- Form (a shape) → “the form of the mountain”

But not “built”.

Back to #5.

Perhaps the intended answer is “build”, even if informal.

But let’s look at the sentence clues later.

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Now, let’s go back and finalize:

#### 1. homograph: address
- A. where someone lives → “My address is…”
- B. to speak → “He addressed the audience”

✔

#### 2. homograph: ball
- A. a round toy → “a ball”
- B. to crumple tightly → “ball up paper”

✔

#### 3. homograph: bar
- A. a place to sit and drink → “go to the bar”
- B. to forbid from → “barred from entry”

✔

#### 4. homograph: take
- A. to record → “take notes”
- B. to seize and hold → “take the prisoner”

✔

#### 5. homograph: build
- A. to build → “build a house”
- B. something that has been built → “a new build” (common in UK English)

Or possibly “structure”, but “build” is more direct.

Let’s go with build.

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Now, complete the sentences using the homographs.

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#### 6. My brother can ________ anything out of Legos.

- He builds things with Legos.
- So: build
- Meaning: A. to build

→ build (A)

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#### 7. The shopkeeper threatened to ________ me from his store.

- This means to prohibit entry.
- So: bar
- Meaning: B. to forbid from

→ bar (B)

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#### 8. I hope that I can ________ this on film.

- To record on film.
- So: record? But we didn’t pick “record” earlier.

Wait — did we miss “record”?

Let’s recheck.

Earlier we had:
- A. to record → ?
- B. to seize and hold → ?

We picked “take” for that.

But “record” is a homograph:
- Verb: to record
- Noun: a record (of an event)

But “to seize and hold” doesn’t match.

Wait — “capture”?

No.

Wait — “film”?

- Film (to record) → “film the scene”
- Film (a movie) → “a film”

But “to seize and hold” — no.

Wait — “tape”?

- Tape (to record) → “tape the interview”
- Tape (a sticky strip) → “duct tape”

But not “to seize and hold”.

So “take” is still best.

But for sentence 8: “I hope that I can ________ this on film.”

Best word: record

But we didn’t identify “record” as a homograph.

Wait — perhaps we should revisit #4.

Let’s double-check.

#4:
A. to record
B. to seize and hold

We said “take” — but “record” doesn’t fit B.

But “record” is not a homograph for “to seize and hold”.

So “take” is better.

But for sentence 8, “record” would be natural.

But we didn’t assign “record” as a homograph.

Wait — maybe the intended homograph is “record”?

But only if the second meaning is “a thing recorded” — but it says “to seize and hold”.

So no.

Wait — maybe “hold”?

- Hold (to record) — no
- Hold (to seize) — yes

No.

Wait — “capture”?

- Capture (to record) — “capture on camera”
- Capture (to seize) — “capture the enemy”

Yes! “Capture” is a homograph.

- A. to record → “capture the moment”
- B. to seize and hold → “capture the thief”

Perfect!

So we missed that.

Let’s revise #4.

> 4. homograph: capture
> A. to record → “capture the image”
> B. to seize and hold → “capture the suspect”

Yes — much better than “take”.

And it fits sentence 8 perfectly.

So let’s fix:

#### 4. homograph: capture

Now, sentence 8:
> 8. I hope that I can ________ this on film.

→ capture (A) — meaning “to record”

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Now, sentence 9:

> 9. The boys threw the ________ back and forth all afternoon.

We need a homograph that fits both:
- A. a round toy → “ball”
- B. to crumple tightly → “ball up”

So the word is ball — but here, it’s the noun.

So: ball

And meaning: A. a round toy

→ ball (A)

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Sentence 10:

> 10. Then it was my turn to ________ the group.

We need a homograph.

Options:
- “address” — to speak to a group → yes!
- “lead”? Not a homograph
- “guide”? No

From #1: address — to speak

So: address (B) — because “to speak” is meaning B

Wait — in #1:
- A. where someone lives
- B. to speak

So “address” as a verb means “to speak to”

So: address (B)

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Now, sentence 6:
> 6. My brother can ________ anything out of Legos.

We said “build” — but “build” is not a homograph we identified.

But in #5, we have:
- A. to build
- B. something that has been built

So homograph: build

So: build (A)

But “build” is not a strong homograph — usually it’s the verb.

But in modern usage, “a new build” is common.

Alternatively, could it be “construct”?

But “construct” is less common.

So likely intended: build

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Now, let’s write full answers.

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Final Answers:

#### Part 1: Identify homographs

1. homograph: address
A. where someone lives
B. to speak

2. homograph: ball
A. a round toy
B. to crumple tightly

3. homograph: bar
A. a place to sit and drink
B. to forbid from

4. homograph: capture
A. to record
B. to seize and hold

5. homograph: build
A. to build
B. something that has been built

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#### Part 2: Complete sentences

6. My brother can build anything out of Legos. → (A)
7. The shopkeeper threatened to bar me from his store. → (B)
8. I hope that I can capture this on film. → (A)
9. The boys threw the ball back and forth all afternoon. → (A)
10. Then it was my turn to address the group. → (B)

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✔ Final Answer:

Homographs:

1. address
2. ball
3. bar
4. capture
5. build

Sentences:

6. build (A)
7. bar (B)
8. capture (A)
9. ball (A)
10. address (B)

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This completes the worksheet correctly.