 Interesting English heteronyms from espressoenglish.net. Heteronyms are words with the same spelling, but different pronunciations and different meanings. Here are two common examples. The word close with an S sound means near, not far. For example, my house is close to the bus station. The word close with a Z sound is a verb. This means to shut, the opposite of open. For example, please close the door when you leave. Both close and close are spelled C-L-O-S-E. They have the same spelling, but different pronunciations and different meanings, so they are heteronyms. Another example is live and live. Live with the same I as in sit means to reside. For example, I live in an apartment in the city center. The word live is an adjective. This means something that is happening at that moment in that place. For example, I was interviewed on live TV, or there's live music at the restaurant. So today I'm going to teach you 15 interesting heteronyms in the English language. The first one is alternate and alternate. Alternate means an alternative, the next option. For example, we have an alternate plan if this one doesn't work. Alternate, a verb, means to switch back and forth between two things. I alternated between hope and despair. Try to say the difference with me. Alternate, alternate. The next one is attribute and attribute. Attribute is a noun, meaning a characteristic of something. For example, his intelligence is one of his best attributes. A tribute is a verb, meaning to give credit for something. For example, this famous saying is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Attribute, attribute. Our next heteronym is content and content. Content is a noun, meaning information or objects that are contained inside something else. For example, the security officer inspected the contents of my suitcase. Content is an adjective, meaning satisfied or happy. For example, I was content with the grade I got on the test. Say it with me. Content, content. The next one is deliberate and deliberate. Deliberate is an adjective, meaning something done with intention and awareness, something done on purpose, not accidentally. For example, his comment wasn't a mistake, it was a deliberate insult. Deliberate is a verb, meaning to discuss or debate. For example, the managers deliberated for an hour about how to solve the problem. Practice the pronunciation. Deliberate. Deliberate. Next we have a very common one, desert and dessert. A desert is a very dry area of land. For example, it's hard to find water in the desert. Dessert, spelled with one S, not two, is a verb, meaning to abandon, to leave without coming back. For example, my father deserted our family when I was only six. Desert. Dessert. Next we have dove and dove. A dove is a type of bird. For example, I could hear the doves singing outside my window. Dove is a verb, meaning the past tense of dive. For example, she dove into the swimming pool. Dove. Dove. The word L-E-A-D can be pronounced lead or lead. Lead is a verb, meaning to direct, show the way, be the leader. For example, the teacher will lead the students on an excursion. When L-E-A-D is pronounced lead, this refers to a type of metal. For example, these bullets are made of lead. Lead. Lead. Our next one is minute and minute. A minute is a period of time, 60 seconds. For example, can I call you back in 10 minutes? The word minute is spelled the same way, but it's an adjective, meaning extremely small. For example, this isn't an exact replica. There are some minute differences. Minute. Minute. Our next heteronym is moderate and moderate. Moderate is an adjective, meaning in the middle, not extreme. For example, I'm looking for a hotel with a moderate price, not too expensive and not too cheap. Moderate is a verb, meaning to make less extreme or to supervise or preside over. For example, the boss moderated a few of her strongly negative comments so as not to hurt the employee's feelings. This means she made her comments less extreme. Here's an example of moderate being used for supervision. The TV producer moderated the panel discussion among scholars of different perspectives. Moderate. Moderate. Next we have polish and polish. Polish means to make shiny or the substance used to make something shiny. For example, I polished the silver tea kettle. There's a can of furniture polish in the basement. Polish with the capital P is an adjective describing someone or something from Poland. Polish is also a noun referring to the language spoken there. For example, my grandparents are Polish. They immigrated to the U.S. in 1950. Polish. Polish. Next we have refuse and refuse. Refuse is a verb meaning to say no or to reject something. For example, he refused to discuss the topic saying it was none of my business. Refuse is a noun meaning garbage or waste. For example, did you know that most households generate 500 pounds of refuse per year? Refuse. Our next heteronym is separate and separate. Separate is an adjective meaning apart or distinct. For example, there are separate bathrooms for men and women. Separate with three syllables is a verb referring to the action of setting things apart. For example, you should separate the white clothes from the colored clothes before washing them. Separate. Separate. The word TEAR can be pronounced tear or tear. The word tear is a noun referring to the drops of liquid that come out of your eyes when you cry. For example, a single tear trickled down her face. Tear is a verb meaning to pull into pieces by force or to rip. The past tense of tear is tour. For example, she's tearing the wrapping paper off the Christmas present. Tear. Tear. Our next one is wind and wind. Wind means moving air. For example, my dog likes to put his head out the car window to feel the wind. Wind means to wrap something around something else. For example, the doctor started to wind the bandage around my finger. Wind. Wind. And finally we have wound and wound. Wound is the past tense of wind meaning wrapped something around something else. For example, the doctor wound another bandage around my arm. Wound means an injury, especially one in which the skin is broken. For example, he sustained serious wounds in the explosion. If you'd like to increase your vocabulary and improve your fluency so that you can express yourself better in English, check out my vocabulary builder course. There are 30 lessons in each level. And there's a level 1 and level 2 for less experienced and more experienced English learners. Visit espressoenglish.net, click on courses and look for the vocabulary builder course for more information as well as some free sample lessons.