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About This Quiz
Complete the sentences with the right homonym to do well on this quiz. There are two sensible choices, one less sensible choice and one hilarious choice to sift through. Consider word form when making your selections and you'll do fine. The words are simple, but they can be tricky when identifying.
As an added bonus, we've included word origins for many of the answers. You'll find super-interesting facts about words we hear every day. Many of the words first came on the scene sometime around the 12th century. Old English and Old French terms precede most of these word gems. Word-form iterations usually sprang up centuries apart, a testament to the amazing flexibility of the spoken and written word. Some words, as you shall see, have been laid to rest, replaced by more polished modern terms. You'll absorb the hidden history of today's commonly used language at the end of this amusing vocabulary quiz.
How many homonyms can you master? Choose the correct answers without peaking, peeking or piquing?
Caroline was so ________ by Stephen's rudeness that she left the office party abruptly.
Affected
"Affected" is a past participle adjective formed from the verb "affect." "Affected" was first used in the 1530s to mean "disposed," which is a meaning no longer used.
Effected
Punch-drunk
Untroubled
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The thrift store sells ________ secondhand clothing of good quality.
Cheep
Cheap
"Cheep" is a verb that means "to utter a faint high-pitched sound." It's also a noun that describes the sounds or cries that young birds typically make.
Expensive
Articulate
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Paul is the ________ of a large fortune.
Heiress
Air
Lettuce
Heir
"Heir" is a term from around 1300, and it was derived from the Old French word "oir," which means "successor." "Heir apparent" is a noun-adjective that refers to an heir of someone who is still alive.
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Your husband requested that you ________ him out of jail with the savings account funds.
Bail
The word "bail" was first used in the 14th century as a noun to mean "a receptacle used to remove water from a boat." The "bond money" definition of "bail" was first coined in the late 15th century.
Break
Bale
Tango
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The light shined across Jimmy's freshly shaved ________ head.
Juicy
Bald
"Bald" derives from "ballede" which meant "white patch" in the 14th century. The verb "bald" came about in 1602 and means "to make or become bald."
Hairy
Bawled
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Those who ________ loudest rarely have much to say.
Whisper
Snore
Bawl
"Bawl" was first used as a verb to mean "howl like a dog." The noun "bawl" describes "a loud cry or wail." The verb means "to shout, weep or call out noisily."
Ball
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After inhaling the familiar smell of his cologne, she exposed her ________ shoulder to the admirer who hid in the closet.
Bare
"Bare" is from the Old English word, "baer," which means "naked." The verb was first used before the 12th century to mean "to uncover" or "to make or lay (something) bare."
Clothed
Gigantic
Bear
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The romance writer craved the peace and solitude of the ________ cottage on the prairie.
Lone
"Lone" is a late 14th century derivation of the adjective, "alone." The literary sense of "lone" usually describes a place and means "remote, deserted."
Accompanied
Loan
Backward
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If you want to avoid heavy traffic, use alternate routes, steering clear of the ________ road into town.
Secondary
Main
"Main" was first used as a noun before the 12th century to mean "force." The noun form also means "mainland," "crucial point," "duct" or "mainsail."
Mane
Edible
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The vehicle is ________ for the hefty loads they'll need to transport.
Meat
Inadequate
Meet
"Meet" is a noun, verb and adjective. The adjectival form means "particularly modified to suit a need, circumstance or situation."
Delicious
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Carrie was so ________ after work, she fell asleep fully clothed in the bathtub.
Beet
Beat
"Beat" is a verb that means "to strike repeatedly." As a noun, it means "a single blow" or the "sound produced by a stroke or blow." The word was first used as a verb before the 12th century, and as a noun around 1625.
Energetic
Seasick
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The patient groom finally found a ________ to be his bride.
Pug
Belle
"Belle" is a French word with Latin origins. The Latin "bella" is the feminine form of "bellus," meaning "fair" or "beautiful."
Monstrosity
Bell
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Please ________ Oscar's inaccurate sketches so that the boss doesn't fire him!
Season
Berry
Reveal
Bury
"Bury" came about before the 12th century to mean "to discard by dumping in the earth." It's derived from the Middle English "burien," which is from the Old English "byrgan."
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As the old saying goes, "________ is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."
Patience
"Patience" is from the Old French "pacience," meaning "permission" or "sufferance." "Patience" is a 13th century noun that means "the circumstance or capacity of being patient."
Agitation
Patients
Whiskey
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The wily wolf huffed, puffed and ________ the house in.
Blew
"Blew" is derived from the Old English "bleow," and is the past tense verb form of "blow." The Old English "blawan" means "to make an air current, blow, kindle, inflate" or "to make a sound with a wind instrument."
Inhaled
Blue
Baked
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The lethargic kitten couldn't look any more ________ on this rainy day.
Exhilarated
Spherical
Bored
The adjective, "bored," came about in 1823 and means "to feel weary due to lack of interest in one's current activity" or "characterized by boredom." "Bored" is the past participle adjective form of the verb, "bore."
Board
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________ your motivational words into the soldier's weary ears.
Pour
"Pour" likely has Old French origin from "purer," meaning "to sift." The verb first appeared around the 14th century, and the noun form came about in 1790 and means "the activity of pouring," "an instance or amount poured" or "a downpour of rain."
Trickle
Pore
Pitch
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The soccer players ________ the game but lost their souls.
Lost
One
Won
"Won" is the past participle verb of "win" from Old English "gewinnen," which is the past participle of "winnan." The noun form of "won" first appeared in 1917 and means "basic monetary unit of South Korea and North Korea."
Juiced
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The best way to accrue ________ is to sell the sweaters at a higher cost than which you purchased them.
Pimples
Prophet
Debt
Profit
Both the noun and verb forms of "profit" came about in the 14th century. "Profit" is "financial gain; the difference between amount earned and amount spent in a business operation." The verb, "profit," means "acquiring financial advantage, particularly from an investment."
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Her father's feet are _______ because he had to walk 30 miles to and from work each day.
Talkative
Coarse
The first spelling of the word "coarse" was "cors" in the early 15th century. The modern spelling of the word came about in the late 16th century.
Smooth
Course
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These ________ video games have slick graphic displays.
Oily
New
"New" derives from several Old English words: "niwe," "neowe" and "niowe." Both adjectival and adverbial forms of "new" were first used before the 12th century.
Outdated
Knew
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Anna is my ________ longtime friend from France.
Scaly
Deer
Despised
Dear
"Dear" comes from Old English "deore," meaning "valuable, precious, costly or loved." "Dear" takes several forms, as an adjective, adverb, noun and the more recent interjection form.
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You were absolutely ________ to warn your children about the neighborhood predator.
Swollen
Right
"Right" came about before the 12th century as an adjective, noun and adverb. It's from Old English "riht," meaning "morally correct," "power, privilege," or "interest in property."
Wrong
Write
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Henry ________ the wild horse in order to tame it.
Released
Rode
"Rode" is an early 17th century term and past participle of the verb, "ride." It first appeared in 1612 as a noun to mean "a chain or rope used to fasten an anchor to a boat."
Teased
Road
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If you ________ the handbags first, you'll make the most profit.
Sell
The Old English "sellan," meaning "furnish, supply, lend, surrender," precedes the word "sell," which takes noun and verb forms. The verb form first appeared in the 12th century.
Buy
Scold
Cell
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Be sure to tell the doctor all the terrible things that tend to ________ you so that you can receive the best treatment.
Ale
Ail
"Ail" is used both as a noun and a verb. The word first appeared before the 12th century as a verb meaning "to inflict discomfort." "Ail" is considered to be archaic, at least in verb form.
Help
Tickle
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Jessie's substantial reward is fair compensation for that tremendous ________ he managed to pull off.
Feet
Failure
Feat
"Feat" derives from Anglo-French "fet," meaning "action," and Latin "factum," meaning something done." Aside from its noun definition, "feat" took the, now archaic, adjectival form meaning "neat" or "smart."
Frankfurter
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I promise that even your small ________ in our investment will grow substantially over the next three years.
Aggregate
Head
Stake
Old English "staca," meaning "pointed stick or post," precedes "stake." The verb form first appeared in the 14th century, and means "to attach to a stake," "to back financially," or "to bet."
Steak
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________ these shelled pecans so that we can dust a thin layer on top of the cake after it has cooled.
Lick
Flower
Flour
The transitive verb, "flour," first appeared in 1657 to mean "to coat with flour" or "to break up into small particles." "Flour" used to be spelled "flower" before some time around 1830.
Solidify
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Nathan is her only ________.
Son
The word "son" is from Old English "sunu," meaning "descendant as son." The noun meaning "human male offspring" was first used before the 12th century.
Lollipop
Sun
Daughter
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The inexperienced professor's soiled attire exemplifies a lack of ________.
Unstylishness
Style
"Style" takes verb and noun forms. The verb form followed the 14th century noun form and was first used around 1580.
Peanuts
Stile
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Only ________ agents are allowed in the private meeting to discuss the account.
Principle
Auxiliary
Hungry
Principal
"Principal" has Old French origin and means "main, most important." The word is both an adjective and a noun; both forms were first used in the 14th century.
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Poor Sarah is such a productive student, but she's stuck with a team of ________ slackers.
Idle
Before the 12th century, "idle" was first used as an adjective to mean "unemployed" or "unoccupied." The word is derived from the West Germanic Old English word "idel," which means "empty" or "useless."
Idol
Purple
Ambitious
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My fourth thorough explanation failed to ________ Tina's needless worry.
Lesson
Lessen
"Lessen" first appeared in the 13th century in the intransitive sense meaning "to become less." Other words from the 13th century include "beforehand," "furnace" and "merchant."
Increase
Comb
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In days of ________, Michael spoke with such confidence.
Present
Your
Spaghetti
Yore
The word "yore" has been around since the 14th century. It is derived from the Old English word "geara," which is an adverb.
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You Got:
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