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Question

Pick the correctly used homonym.

This question was previously asked in
SSC CHSL 2025 Tier 1 Question Paper (21-Nov-2025) (Shift 1)
The correct answer is

She was born in the barn.

This question hinges on two near-homophones: 'born' and 'borne', which share a sound but differ in meaning and use.

'Born' is used only for coming into existence or being given birth to, and almost always in the passive ('was born'). 'Borne' is the past participle of 'bear' meaning to carry, support or endure.

There is also a spelling distractor, 'barn', a farm building, which is a different word altogether and cannot serve as a verb.

Option 1, 'She was born in the barn,' correctly uses 'born' for birth and 'barn' for the place, so both words fit their meanings.

Option 2, 'She was borne in the barn,' would mean she was carried, which does not suit a statement about birth.

Option 3, 'He born the weight easily,' needs the carry/endure sense and a proper past form ('bore/has borne'), so 'born' is wrong; option 4 uses 'barn', a noun, as if it were a verb.

Hence the correctly used homonym appears in She was born in the barn.

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Similar Questions

  1. Select the sentence containing the homonym of the highlighted word:

    She gave him a small wave before leaving.

  2. Which of the following options is not one of the meanings of the homonym 'content'?

  3. Which of the following pairs of homonyms can be used to fill in the blanks most suitably?

    The interior designer received a ____ from her client for choosing furniture that would perfectly ____ the walls and floors.

  4. Which of the following pairs of homonyms can be used to fill in the blanks most suitably?

    As his ____ ring slipped from his finger and sank into the pond, a curious ____ paddled over and, mistaking it for food, swallowed it whole.

  5. Select the sentence containing the homonym of the highlighted word:

    The hunters waited patiently for the duck to land.

  6. Which of the following pairs of homonyms can be used to fill in the blanks most suitably?

    As the lonely ____ wailed over the lake, the pale ____ rose slowly, casting silver ripples on the water.

  7. Which of the following options is NOT one of the meanings of the homonym 'advance'?

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  9. Which of the following options is NOT one of the meanings of the homonym 'record'?

  10. Which of the following pairs of homonyms can be used to fill in the blanks most suitably?

    The teacher's decision was guided by the core ________ of fairness, even though the ________ disagreed with her approach.


Important Questions from Homophones

  1. Select the correct pair of homophones to fill in the blanks.

    The stained glass windows behind the _______ in Glenn Church are in need of repair.

    Genetic screening has the potential to _______ the genetic composition of the population

  2. Fill in the blank with the appropriate homonym :

    He left the meeting in a fit of __________ .

  3. Fill in the blank with the appropriate homonym :

    A __________ gives us his words of wisdom.

  4. Fill in the blank with the appropriate homonym :

    He favours a ___________ and stick approach to teaching.

  5. Select the most appropriate homophone to fill in the blank.

    The dog took a __________ during his walk and lifted his __________ to indicate that he was tired.

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