Lost in Pronunciation

Just when you thought English couldn’t get any more confusing

Heteronyms (or heterophones) are two words that are spelt the same but pronounced differently. When reading them, they can only be told apart by context. Below are some examples.

He had a ¹bass on the front of his ²bass
1. A bass is a type of fish. /bæs/
2. A bass sound is low in pitch. /beɪs/
A buck ¹does not look after ²does.
1. 3^rd person singular form of the verb to do. /dʌz/
2. A doe is a female deer. /dəʊz/
He was too ¹close to the door to ²close
1. An adjective meaning near. /kləʊs/
2. A verb – the opposite of to open. /kləʊz/
The ¹dove ²dove from the sky
1. A bird – similar to a white pigeon. /dʌv/
2. Past tense of the verb to dive. /dəʊv/
He wanted to ¹lead using a ²lead
1. The verb meaning to be at the front and have others follow. /li:d/
2. The element whose symbol is Pb. /led/
Her face was ¹number after a ²number of surgeries
1. More numb. /nʌmə/
2. An amount (in this context) /nʌmbə/