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Vocab Review | Homonyms Pt. 2

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Last week we learned about a special group of words called “Homonyms” and looked at a few examples. Today we’re going to continue learning about homonyms to help you long in your journey to improving your vocabulary.

Horn

horn

A ‘horn’ (noun) is a ‘hard, pointed, and often curved part that grows from the top of the head of some animals’ like cows, goats and rhinos. In the cartoon, the cow has two horns on its head.

E.g. The bullfighter was almost hit by the bull’s horns.

But a ‘horn’ (noun) is also a ‘device that makes a loud warning sound’. Cars, for example, have horns which let people know they are there.

E.g. There was a dog standing in the middle of the road. I had to blow my horn to make it move out of the way.

 

Smell

smell

 

‘Smell’ (noun) is used to identify a bad or unpleasant odour, but ‘to smell’ is a verb which means ‘inhaling the odour/scent through the nose’. Let’s take a look at two examples to help us understand the difference:

E.g. What’s that awful smell? Someone open a window! (Noun)

E.g. Smell my new perfume. Do you like it? (Verb)

 

Click

click

In computing, ‘to click’ means ‘to press a button on a mouse’. The word comes from the sound that’s made when you click (it makes a clicking sound).

E.g. When you have chosen the file you want, click ‘Open’.

We also use ‘to click’ when talking about relationships with other people. In this sense, ‘to click’ means ‘to go or fit together with ease, to become friendly, and get along well quickly’:

E.g. They clicked from their first meeting.
E.g. My boyfriend and I clicked right away. We talked to each other every day and had a lot in common.

But that’s not all! When we say something ‘has clicked’, it means we ‘suddenly understand or remember’ something. Think about when you suddenly understand something during English class!
E.g. I didn’t understand that phrasal verb, but today it just clicked when I was talking to my friend about it.
E.g. When she started talking to me, it suddenly clicked where I had met her before.

Would you like to jump ahead and learn even more about vocabulary? Download our NEW eBook now and find plenty of new words to enrich your English!

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