Question

Identify the correct homophones to complete the following sentences:
1) I tried in _____ to convince her that I was telling the truth.
2) Suddenly, the child went blue and the _____ in her wrist became silent.
3) The weather _____ needs to be replaced.

a) (1) vane, (2) vain, (3) vein
b) (1) vain, (2) vane, (3) vein
c) (1) vein, (2) vain, (3) vane
d) (1) vain, (2) vein, (3) vane

Answer 1

Hint: The word ‘vein’ refers to ‘any of the tubes forming part of the blood circulation system of the body, carrying in most cases oxygen-depleted blood towards the heart’. The word ‘vane’ refers to ‘a broad blade attached to a rotating axis or wheel which pushes or is pushed by wind or water and forms part of a machine or device such as a windmill, propeller, or turbine’. The word ‘vain’ refers to ‘producing no result; useless'.

Complete answer:
The words ‘vein’ and ‘vane’ are used as nouns. The word ‘vain’ is also a noun, but in most cases, it is used as an adjective.
They are homophones, i.e. they are words that sound the same, but have a
different spelling and a different meaning.

Now, we know the meaning and usage of the given words. Let’s look at our options:

option ‘a’ - In this option, the first blank is to be filled by ‘vane’, which is a noun. However, this option does not fit the context of the first sentence. This is incorrect. The second blank is filled by ‘vain’, which also does not fit. The third is filled by ‘vein’, which also is incorrect. So, this is an incorrect option.
option ‘b’ - In this option, the first blank is to be filled by ‘vain’ which completes the phrase ‘in vain’. This is correct. The second one is filled by ‘vane’, which is incorrect. The third one is filled by ‘vein’. This is incorrect. So, this is an incorrect option.
option ‘c’ - In this option, the first blank is to be filled by ‘vein’, which is incorrect with the context. The second one is to be filled by ‘vain’, which is also incorrect as it does not fit. The third one is to be filled by ‘vane’, which fits perfectly, but the rest of the options do not. So, this is an incorrect option.
option ‘d’ - In this option, the first blank is filled by ‘vain’, which completes the required phrase. The second one is filled by ‘vein’, which is correct. The third one is filled by ‘vane’ which fits perfectly into the context of the given sentence. So, this is the required answer. It is the correct option.

Note: Identify the difference between an ‘adjective’ and a ‘noun’ and when to use them. Then, given the context of the sentence, try to choose the most appropriate answer.