Урок 59. Проблемы со значением русских слов. Омонимы (+ Примеры). Часть I. Lesson 59. Problems of meaning: Russian words. Homonyms (+ Examples). Part I.

Homonyms arise in several ways. Firstly, as a result of phonological change a word may come to coincide in sound and form with another word of different origin (as is the case with the pair лук). Secondly, identical forms may develop as a result of the processes of word-formation, by the addition of distinct suffixes to a root (e.g. удaрник). Thirdly, it very often happens that an existing word takes on quite a new meaning (e.g. свeт).
We also include here a few words (e.g. ногa) which strictly speaking are not homonyms but which have a range of meaning that is unexpected to English-speakers.
Many of the examples given here are full homonyms (i.e. they have identical pronunciation and paradigms, e.g. ключ in its different meanings), while others are partial homonyms (i.e. they do not share all the forms which each word possesses, e.g. мир, which does not have plural forms in its sense of peace).

Examples of homonyms

блок	bloc pulley
брaк	matrimony defective goods, rejects
вид	air, appearance shape, form, state view (e.g. from room) species aspect (gram term)
врeмя	time tense (gram term)
вязaть	to tie to knit
глaдить/поглaдить	to stroke (e.g. animal) to iron (clothes; pf also выглaдить)
гнaть	to chase, drive, pursue to distil
голос	voice vote
голубь (m)	pigeon dove
горло	throat neck of bottle (though as a rule the dimin form горлышко is used in this sense, except in the phrase пить из горлa (D), to drink straight from the bottle)
горн	furnace, forge bugle
губa	lip bay, inlet (in northern Russia) tree fungus
дeрeвня	country (i.e. not town) village
долг	duty debt
жaть	(жму, жмёшь) to press, squeeze (жну, жнёшь) to reap
жeртвa	victim sacrifice
Зeмля зeмля	Earth land, soil
икрa	caviar calf (part of leg)