1649 Naked Homonyms

I've always been fascinated with the sound of words. I like playing with them. Like telling folks I always wear a bow tie when I do tae bo. Or that it's important for me to have a chai tea before I do my tai chi.
But what really amazes me is how our brains seem capable of accepting the same words for different things. A synonym is a different word that means the same thing. A homonym is a word that's spelled the same but means something different. Like "skate" the fish and "skate" the roller thing. They're also, in the strict sense, words that are pronounced the same.
Then there's the naked homonyms—the homographs. Homographs share the same spelling but mean something different because they are pronounced different. These are the ones that usually trip up foreign language learners.
Homographs are also a big challenge and energy drain for writers, as context determines pronunciation. When the Mariners had the popular slogan, "Refuse to Lose" it was easy for naysayers to pronounce it like the trash—refuse to lose.
Also important with foods to distinguish between local as in where it was grown and lo-cal as in what its effect on your diet will be.
Then there's résumé and resume. As in, it's time to resume writing my résumé.
Or resent and resent. I resent that you resent the rejection letter. I got it the first time!
Or resign and resign. I was resigned to resigning but later they may ask me to resign my contract. As in, sign it over again. So the same spelling can mean you're quitting or re-upping.
Those kind of language gymnastics make me hungry.
I think I'll go polish off a Polish dog.
America, ya gotta love it.