A homograph is a group (usually a pair) of words that are spelled the same way, and may or may not be pronounced the same way, although the difference in pronunciation is often just a shift in the accented syllable.

There is a whole class of homographs that end in -ate, usually with one being a verb and the other being a noun or an adjective related to it. For example:

"Advocate" can be pronounced with a long "a" sound and mean "to SPEAK or write in SUPPORT of"

"Advocate" can also be pronounced with a short "a" sound and refer to a person who supports or pleads the cause of another.

Common Homographs

Now that you know what they are, here are 40 examples of homographs:

accent - stress or emphasis/a manner of speaking or pronunciation influenced by the region in which one lives or grew up

agape - wide open/a Greek word meaning "love"

attribute - a characteristic or quality/to think of as belonging to or originating in some person, place or thing

axes - the plural of ax or axe/the plural of axis

bass - a deep voice or tone/a kind of fish

bat - a piece of sporting equipment used in baseball/a winged animal associated with vampires

bow - to bend at the waist/the front of a boat/a pair of tied loops

buffet - to hit, punch or slap/a self-serve food bar

bustier - an undergarment/more busty

compact - small/to make small/a small case for holding makeup

compound - to mix or combine/an enclosed area with a building or group of buildings inside

content - happy or satisfied/all that is contained inside something

contract - an agreement/to get, acquire or incur

coordinates - brings into proper place or order/a set of numbers used to calculate position

desert - a hot, arid region/to leave

digest - a condensed version of some information/to change food in the stomach into a form that can be absorbed by the body

discount - a REDUCTION in price/to underestimate the significance of or give no credence to

does - female deer (plural)/present, third person singular form of the verb "do"

down - in a LOWER position/soft, furry feathers

entrance - the place of entry/to bewitch, delight or enrapture

evening - late afternoon/making more even

fine - very good/sharp or keen/delicate or subtle/a sum of money paid to settle a matter

frequent - occurring regularly/to visit a place with regularity

incense - a substance that produces a pleasant odor when burned/to infuriate or make very angry

lead - to go FIRST with followers behind/a type of metal

minute - 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour/extremely small

moped - acted sad or gloomy/a bicycle with a motor

object - a thing you can see or touch/a goal/a noun that receives the action of a verb/to be opposed to

proceeds - advances or continues on/the money or profit gained from some sale or venture

produce - to create or make/fresh fruits and vegetables

project - a plan or proposal/to throw or hurl forward/to cause a shadow or image to fall upon a surface

putting - the present participle of put/the present participle of putt

number - a numeral/to count/more numb

refuse - waste or garbage/to reject or decline to accept

row - a fight/to propel a boat forward using oars/a line

second - 1/60th of a minute/after the first

subject - under some authority or control/to bring under authority or control/to make liable or vulnerable/a topic/the noun in a sentence about which something is said in the predicate

tear - to rip/a drop of water from the eye

wind - to turn/moving air

wound - turned/an injury