Question

Choose the correct homonym to complete the sentence:
The _______ department at the store will be closed on Tuesday.
A) Sails
B) sales
C) Snails
D) salt

Answer 1

Hint:A homonym is a word that is said or spelled the same way as another word but has a different meaning. For example: "Write” and “right” is a pair of homonyms.

Complete answer:
Option A) Sails – is an incorrect answer because the meaning of ‘sails’ is ‘a piece of material extended on a mast to catch the wind and propel a boat or ship or other vessel’ and this is an incorrect answer because it does not fit in the sentence.

Option B) sales – is the correct answer because the meaning of ‘sales’ is ‘the exchange of a commodity for money; the action of selling something or selling or dealing’ and sales is the most appropriate word because “sales department of the store” refers to the department concerned with the selling of goods and services of the store. Thus, this is the correct answer.

Option C) Snails – is an incorrect answer because snails are a soft creature with a soft, wet body and a round shell. And this does not fit in the sentence because snail has nothing to do with the departmental store. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Option D) salt – is an incorrect answer because the meaning of salt is ‘a white crystalline substance that gives seawater its characteristic taste and is used for seasoning or preserving food or table salt’ and this does not fit in the sentence correctly. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Hence, the correct answer is Option ‘B’.

Note:Homonyms are the words that have similar punctuation but have different meaning. So, sails and sales are two homonyms i.e. pronunciation is the same but meaning is different. So, sales, option B is the best fit in the sentence and other options are wrong.