These stimuli were used in the following experiment:

GERNSBACHER, M. A., & FAUST, M. (1991). The mechanism of suppression: A component of general comprehension skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 17, 245-262. [view PDF]

U = Context is unbiased toward either meaning of the homograph
B = Context is biased toward the meaning of the probe word

JAIL
U: He described the cell
B: He walked around in the cell

ACCUSATION
U: He made the charge
B: He denied the charge

BALL
U: He saw the bat
B: He swung the bat

MACHINE
U: He saw the crane
B: He operated the crane

DOG
U: She recognized the bark
B: She heard the bark

FISH
U: He saw the bass
B: He caught the bass

GOAT
U: He fed the kid
B: He bought the kid

FIRE
U: She thought about the match
B: She blew out the match

HOTEL
U: He wasn’t impressed by the lobby
B: He met in the lobby
FRUIT
U: She hated dates
B: She ate some dates

CONTAINER
U: He closed the case
B: He made a wooden case

CHALK
U: She approached the board
B: She wrote on the board

KING
U: She saw the ruler
B: She obeyed her ruler

MINUTE
U: She knew a second
B: She waited for a second

RAIN
U: He waited for the showers
B: He forecasted showers

CEMETARY
U: He saw the plot
B: He was buried in the plot

STUDENT
U: He looked at his pupils
B: He instructed his pupils

MUSIC
U: She didn’t recognize the note
B: She didn’t play the note

TOY
U: He pointed to the top
B: He played with the top

JELLY
U: She avoided the jam
B: She ate the jam

GAME
U: She hadn’t ever heard of squash
B: She played squash

BROKEN
U: He hated the cast
B: He applied the cast

LOCK
U: She pointed to the correct keys
B: She opened the door with the keys

DRINK
U: She avoided the punch
B: She tried the punch

CHEESE
U: She looked at the mold
B: She grew some mold

DUCK
U: She was annoyed by the quack
B: She heard a sound like a quack

HOLE
U: He forgot about the pit
B: He dug the pit

TOCK
U: She was bothered by the tick
B: She heard the tick

BIT
U: He began the drill
B: He bought the drill

OVEN
U: He became familiar with the range
B: He used the range

ZOO
U: She examined the seal
B: She trained the seal

SHOE
U: She picked up the sole
B: She mended the sole

STICK
U: He bought the club
B: He swung the club

SIGNAL
U: She picked up the cue
B: She understood the cue

WART
U: She carefully looked at the mole
B: She had a mole

RIP
U: He looked down at the tear
B: He mended the tear

COMMAND
U: He announced the order
B: He gave the order

HEAD
U: She defined the word “temple”
B: She rubbed her temple

FINGER
U: She adjusted the ring
B: She put on the ring

STONE
U: He talked about the rock
B: He threw the rock

SEASON
U: She studied the spring
B: She looked forward to spring

DELAY
U: He was responsible for the stall
B: He wanted to stall

COUNTRY
U: She liked china
B: She went to China

DULL
U: She said it was blunt
B: She said the knife was blunt

DIFFICULT
U: He said the stuff was hard
B: He said the test was hard

TRASH
U: He was surprised by the litter
B: He took out the litter

BRACELET
U: She was proud of her charm
B: She bought the charm

INSTRUMENT
U: He needed the organ
B: He played the organ

FOLLOWER
U: He wished there were more fans
B: He cheered with the fans

FUNERAL
U: He avoided the wake
B: He attended the wake

CATHOLIC
U: She observed the mass
B: She attended the mass

DOPE
U: He picked up the pot
B: He smoked the pot

WISE
U: He recognized the sage
B: He consulted the sage

SWIM
U: She read the word “pool”
B: She played in the pool

WAITER
U: He picked up the tip
B: She left a big tip

FACTORY
U: He moved closer to the plant
B: He worked at the plant

SHIP
U: He looked at the deck
B: He walked on the deck

WOOD
U: He disliked the panel
B: He nailed up the panel

WORM
U: He felt the slug
B: He stepped on the slug

WATER
U: He enjoyed some bridge
B: He jumped from some bridge

JUSTICE
U: She looked very fair
B: She never acted fair

LEFT
U: She searched for the right
B: She turned to the right

RUMMY
U: He often enjoyed gin
B: He played some gin

COW
U: She was annoyed by the beef
B: She ate the beef

POISE
U: She didn’t remember her grace
B: She was full of grace

COINS
U: She waited for the change
B: She counted the change

PENCIL
U: She wanted the lead
B: She sharpened the lead

TREASURE
U: He admired the chest
B: He found the chest

GLASS
U: She noticed the pitcher
B: She filled up the pitcher

LECTURER
U: She picked up the speaker
B: She introduced the speaker

SHOVEL
U: He picked up the spade
B: He dug with the spade

GIFT
U: She liked the present
B: She wrapped up the present

ARROW
U: He moved the bow
B: He shot with the bow

BEER
U: He didn’t like the draft
B: He drank the draft

LEG
U: She cut one foot
B: She stepped on one foot

CANDY
U: She saw the mint
B: She tasted the mint

CABINET
U: She picked up the file
B: She read over the file

TENNIS
U: She wasn’t happy with the racket
B: She picked up her racket

CLOTHES
U: She held the iron
B: She plugged in the iron.

LEDGE
U: She saw the perch.
B: She sat on the perch.

FEATHERS
She tried to duck

BARN
She held the object stable

FAKE
She climbed to the top of the bluff

HANDS
He fired the arms

MINOR
He was promoted to Major

NECKLACE
He ran around the diamond

PLANE
He swatted the fly

HAMMER
She lost a pound

BREAD
He often loafed

BOOK
He was hard to page

KITCHEN
She did not want to sink

BUTTER
She had to roll

TOOL
She began to shed

SKY
She was a movie star

AIR
He forgot to wind

FATIGUE
He fixed the tire

HAY
She drank through the straw

FLOWER
He always rose early

CORN
She tried to stalk
CHIPS
He jabbed with a poker

FOOL
She was supposed to jerk

JOKE
She started to gag

ROB
He drank from the mug

BOUNCE
She was invited to the ball

FLAME
He got fired

FIX
He took a five-minute break

NUMBER
She had never seen a Count

RIVER
She made a withdrawal from the bank

TREE
He began to leave

SHELL
He acted like a nut

BAD
She wore a habit

EGG
He lowered the hatch

WRINKLE
She was a member of the press

SEE
She cleaned off the saw

WORDS
He was captured by the spell

RAISIN
He began to prune
TRACKS
He wasn’t well trained

CAR
She traded the steer

INGEST
She photographed the swallow

KNIT
She told a yarn

GLUE
He swung the stick

CASH
She needed to check

TANTRUM
She said that it fit

PAYMENT
He voted for the new bill

BRAIN
He couldn’t get his children to mind

MAIL
He pounded in the post

PORK
He was quite a ham

GUN
He drank a shot

TEXAS
He was overstated

UNUSUAL
He cooked the steak rare

PIG
She forgot to sow

WRIST
She liked to watch

WHISKEY
She was very still
POLE
He locked the vault

CEREAL
She liked to bowl

BEACH
He soon began to coast

SLOW
He will fast

LOOK
He didn’t have a peer

CONCEAL
He tanned the hide

SOUND
She climbed to the top rung

COACH
She walked out onto the stage

REMAINDER
She wanted to rest

WRITE
She looked like the type

TALE
She fell from the second story

SQUARE
He learned how to box

UP
He was allergic to down

MARSH
She was totally swamped

INSECT
He said the room was bugged

YOURS
He excavated the mine

OVER
She was very lean

COLUMN
He liked to row

WORK
She didn’t know how to shift

HIT
He went on strike

BREAKFAST
She proposed the toast

HAT
She gave the wood a second coat

DOT
He ran the 100 yard dash

PROFIT
She served the ball into the net

HAIR
She closed the lock

SLIDE
She wore the slip

PUT
He lost the set