You have to admire English...

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

... for making it interesting to new speakers:

01) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

02) The farm was used to produce produce.

03) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

04) We must polish the Polish furniture.

05) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

06) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

07) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

08) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

09) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The bandage was wound around the wound.

15) A seamstress and her sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind in the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Do you have any more you can think of?

[sheeny (Al)]

There's a veriation on number 12 Chris - if you're thinking triremes...

There was a row in the second row about how to row.

Al.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Excellent Al - yep - missed that one.

[kustard (Simon)]

I'll read the book after you have read the book.

[sheeny (Al)]

Its a fluke the fluke made it from the anchor fluke to the whale's fluke.

[sheeny (Al)]

The beau stood on the bow of the boat with his bow and arrow but had to bow to get under the bough as they passed a tree.

Al.

[sheeny (Al)]

... oh... and he had a bow in his hair...

[sheeny (Al)]

...oops...

and he had bow legs and they were rounding a bow in the river at the time...

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Well done Al. Take a bow!

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Yep - Al's on it! One thing - "bow" and "bough" are spelled differently, so written differentiation isn't difficult. The spoken is, however.

Simon - not sure if "read" qualifies, as it's a change in tense of the same verb - it still refers to the same thing. Example: "row" could be referring to what an oarsman does, or to a punch-up.

[sheeny (Al)]

Yeah it all depends whether you're talking homonyms, homophones or homographs. I took the liberty of blending them.

Al.

[adman (Adam)]

To be fair, English is full of booby traps for the unwary foreigner. Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled.

—Bill Bryson, American writer, editor, and journalist, The Mother Tongue, 1990

[adman (Adam)]

I just realised the quote in my signature also...!

[bloodhound31]

It's plain to see there's a plain plane on the plain.

After my board meeting I got bored, chucked on my board shorts, grabbed my board and jumped on board, then bored into the waves.

That broad broad comes from abroad.

[kustard (Simon)]

Originally Posted by Omaroo

Simon - not sure if "read" qualifies, as it's a change in tense of the same verb - it still refers to the same thing. Example: "row" could be referring to what an oarsman does, or to a punch-up.

Ahh yeah, obviously my brain wasn't on

[Barrykgerdes]

Here' one from that 1950's

Have you seen a Karrier carrier carry a Karrier carrier?. Its all a matter of context. No wonder so many people have trouble with the English language.

For those who don't know a Karrier was a brand of truck made by the Roots group.

Barry

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Which Witch is which?

[GeoffW1 (Geoff)]

Ahh my dear, this astronomy gear is too dear for me.

[Rick Petrie]

Could someone page that Page to take a page from that page in history.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by GeoffW1

Ahh my dear, this astronomy gear is too dear for me.

My Dear, did you see a Deer with your dear telescope? Oh dear!