Real Thing, Real Deal, Genuine Article
noun, の adjective
The real thing is the real thing, aka the real deal. If you learned 本 as book you can also think of this word as the "book thing." What is this book thing? Is it the real version of the book? Is it the real deal? If so, I'll pay you a million.
ほんもの
The readings are on'yomi plus kun'yomi (kun'yomi is 物). You learned the reading of the kanji 本 and also the vocabulary reading of 物, so you should be able to read it.
このレタス、もしかして本物なの？
Is this lettuce perhaps real?
このナイキのスニーカー、本物だと思って買いました。
I bought these Nike sneakers thinking they were real.
本物の金持ちは税金を払う義務について悪口なんて言わないよ。
Real rich people won't even complain about their duty of paying taxes.