A list of some of the most common German homonyms that are spelled the same but mean something different. They are useful to know and with some it could get weird if you mix them up. Some of them also have a different plural form
die Bank
the bank (pl.: die Banken)
the bench (pl.: die Bänke)
die Decke (pl.: die Decken)
the blanket, the ceiling
die Birne (pl.: die Birnen)
the pear, the (light) bulb, in slang it can also mean "the head"
faul - lazy, rotten
das Schloss (pl.: die Schlösser)
the castle, the lock
sauer - sour, angry
das Gericht (pl.: die Gerichte)
the court, the meal
der Strauß
the ostrich (pl.: die Strauße)
the bouquet (pl.: die Sträuße)
das Pflaster (pl.: die Pflaster)
the band-aid, (road) pavement
Be especially careful with these words and their articles, they have a completely different meaning with a different article:
der Tor - the fool | plural: die Toren
das Tor - the gate ; the goal (soccer, etc) | plural: die Tore
der Pony - the fringe, the bangs | plural: die Ponys
das Pony - the pony | plural: die Ponys
der Taube - the deaf person, for a female deaf person it's "die Taube" | plural: die Tauben
die Taube - the pigeon | plural: die Tauben
der Leiter - the leader (male), female: die Leiterin | plural: die Leiter
die Leiter - the ladder | plural: die Leitern
der See - the lake | plural: die Seen
die See - the sea / the ocean; (= das Meer) | no plural form for "die See" but for "das Meer": "die Meere"
die Steuer - the tax | plural: die Steuern
das Steuer - the steering wheel | plural: die Steuer
der Tau - the dew | no plural form
das Tau - the rope | plural: die Taue
der Junge - the boy | plural: die Jungen
das Junge - the offspring (of animals) | plural: die Jungen
der Laster - the truck | plural: die Laster
das Laster - the bad habit | plural: die Laster
der Kiefer - the jaw(bone) | plural: die Kiefer
die Kiefer - the pine | plural: die Kiefern
der Erbe - the heir; the heiress (=die Erbin) | plural: die Erben (male & general); die Erbinnen (female)
das Erbe - the inheritance, the heritage, the legacy | plural: die Erbschaften
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