Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) Practice Test

In the context of homophones, which of the following pairs are examples?

1. Wind and wind

2. Mail and male

3. Bass and bass

4. Bow and bow

The correct answer is: Mail and male

In the context of homophones, the pair "Mail and male" is a correct example. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings. In this case, "mail" refers to postal deliveries, while "male" denotes the gender. Both words are pronounced identically, which fulfills the criteria for homophones. The other pairs do not serve as conventional examples of homophones. For instance, "Wind and wind" could refer to the movement of air versus a verb meaning to twist something, but they do not have the exact same pronunciation when considering different contexts. Similarly, "Bass and bass" can refer to either a type of fish or a low-frequency sound, but these also have distinct pronunciations based on context. "Bow and bow" can refer to a gesture or a weapon, but, again, the pronunciation may vary. Therefore, "Mail and male" stand out as the quintessential example of homophones due to their identical pronunciation and differing meanings.