---
title: homophonous — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «homophonous» in the school dictionary: Homophonous words sound exactly the same but have different meanings, and often different spellings, like «pair» and «pear». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
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# homophonous

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Homophonous words, Homophonous music, other parts, Pair, Knight, joke · **What happens:** sound, have, move along, be, work, say · **To what, where:** different spellings, different meanings, one main tune, joke, one, homophonous slip · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«homophonous» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [homophonous in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/homophonous.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Homophonous words sound exactly the same but have different meanings, and often different spellings, like «pair» and «pear».

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:m1:1
# text = Homophonous words sound exactly the same but have different meanings, and often different spellings, like «pair» and «pear».
1	Homophonous	Homophonous	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sound	sound	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
9	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	meanings	meaning	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	often	often	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	spellings	spelling	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
17	like	like	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	pair	pair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	19	punct	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
22	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	pear	pear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sound** | present | Homophonous words | different spellings |  |  |  | same *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | present | Homophonous words *not said here* | different meanings |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meaning=Patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: music, rare — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Homophonous music has one main tune with the other parts moving along with it as chords.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:m2:1
# text = Homophonous music has one main tune with the other parts moving along with it as chords.
1	Homophonous	Homophonous	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
5	main	main	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	tune	tune	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	parts	part	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
11	moving	move	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	acl	_	_
12	along	along	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obl	_	_
15	as	as	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	chords	chord	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Homophonous music | one main tune |  |  |  | with the other parts | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tune=Patient |
| 2 | **move along** | gerund | the other parts *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with music; as chords; along *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Pair» and «pear» are homophonous.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:x1:1
# text = «Pair» and «pear» are homophonous.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Pair	pair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	pear	pear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	homophonous	homophonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Pair and pear |  |  |  |  | homophonous *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Knight» is homophonous with «night», so the joke works when you say it aloud.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:x2:1
# text = «Knight» is homophonous with «night», so the joke works when you say it aloud.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	homophonous	homophonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
14	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
15	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	17	advmod	_	_
16	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	advcl	_	_
18	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	obj	_	_
19	aloud	aloud	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Knight |  |  |  | night | homophonous *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **work** | present | the joke |  |  |  |  |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | you | joke |  |  |  | aloud *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent it=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our spelling list this week is full of homophonous words.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:x3:1
# text = Our spelling list this week is full of homophonous words.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	list	list	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
5	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	homophonous	homophonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Our spelling list |  |  |  |  | of homophonous words; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **list** |  | Our |  |  |  |  |  | nom list «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many jokes and puns depend on homophonous words.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:x4:1
# text = Many jokes and puns depend on homophonous words.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	jokes	joke	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	puns	pun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	_
5	depend	depend	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	homophonous	homophonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **depend** | present | Many jokes and puns |  |  |  |  | on homophonous words | vn rely-70 «NP V PP.theme S\_ING»: agent=Agent on word=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Their», «there» and «they're» are homophonous, so check which one you mean.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:x5:1
# text = «Their», «there» and «they're» are homophonous, so check which one you mean.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	_
13	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
14	homophonous	homophonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	so	so	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
17	check	check	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	conj	_	_
18	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	19	det	_	_
19	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	21	nsubj	_	_
21	mean	mean	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | they |  |  |  |  | homophonous *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **check** | infinitive |  | which one |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Theme |
| 3 | **mean** | present | you | which one *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A spell checker cannot spot a homophonous slip like «I one the race».

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:x6:1
# text = A spell checker cannot spot a homophonous slip like «I one the race».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	spell	spell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	checker	checker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	spot	spot	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	homophonous	homophonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	slip	slip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
10	like	like	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	nummod	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	race	race	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **spot** | can | a spell checker | a homophonous slip |  |  |  | like the one race | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme slip=Destination |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In some accents «caught» and «court» are homophonous, in others they are not.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:homophonous:x7:1
# text = In some accents «caught» and «court» are homophonous, in others they are not.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	3	det	_	_
3	accents	accent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	caught	catch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
11	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	homophonous	homophonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
16	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
17	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
18	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** *in a quote* | past |  |  |  | some accents |  | in others | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | court |  |  |  |  | homophonous *property* | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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