Homophones

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound alike, but have different meanings and spellings. They are the sets of words that you probably learned in elementary school, though your teacher may have used the broader category of homonyms.

Examples of homophones include:

acts/ax
ad/add
ads/adds/adz
aid/aide
ail/ale
air/heir/err
aisle/isle/I'll
all/awl
all ready/already
all together/altogether
allowed/aloud
alter/altar
ant/aunt
arc/ark
assent/ascent
assistance/assistants
ate/eight
aural/oral
away/aweigh
aye/eye
bail/bale
bait/bate
ball/bawl
band/banned
bard/barred
bare/bear
baron/barren
base/bass
bases/basis
bazaar/bizarre
be/bee
beach/beech
beat/beet
beau/bow
bell/belle
berry/bury
billed/build
berth/birth
bite/byte
blew/blue
bloc/block
boar/bore
board/bored
boarder/border
bode/bowed
bolder/boulder
born/borne
bough/bow
bouillon/bullion
boy/buoy
bread/bred
brake/break
brewed/brood
brews/bruise
bridle/bridal
broach/brooch
browse/brows
but/butt
buy/by/bye
cache/cash
callous/callus
cannon/canon
canvas/canvass
capital/capitol
carat/carrot/caret/karat
carol/carrel
cast/caste
cede/seed
ceiling/sealing
cell/sell
cellar/seller
censor/sensor
cent/scent/sent
cents/scents/sense
cereal/serial
cession/session
chance/chants
chased/chaste
cheap/cheep
chews/choose
chic/sheik
chilly/chili
choral/coral
choir/quire
chute/shoot
chord/cord
cite/sight/site
clause/claws
click/clique
close/clothes/cloze
coal/cole
coarse/course
colonel/kernel
complement/compliment
coo/coup
coop/coupe
core/corps
correspondence/correspondents
council/counsel
creak/creek
crews/cruise
cruel/crewel
cue/queue
currant/current
curser/cursor
cymbal/symbol
dam/damn
days/daze
dear/deer
defused/diffused
desert (abandon)/dessert
dew/do/due
die/dye
disburse/disperse
discreet/discrete
doe/dough/do (musical note)
done/dun
draft/draught
dual/duel
earn/urn
ewe/you/yew
eye/I
faint/feint
fair/fare
faun/fawn
faze/phase
feat/feet
find/fined
fir/fur
flair/flare
flea/flee
flew/flu/flue
flour/flower
flocks/phlox
for/four/fore
foreword/forward
fort/forte
forth/fourth
foul/fowl
friar/fryer
gait/gate
gene/jean
gild/guild
gilt/guilt
gnu/knew/new
gored/gourd
gorilla/guerilla
grate/great
grease/Greece
groan/grown
guessed/guest
hail/hale
hair/hare
hall/haul
halve/have
hangar/hanger
hay/hey
heal/heel/he'll
hear/here
heard/herd
heed/he'd
hertz/hurts
hew/hue/Hugh
hi/high
higher/hire
him/hymn
hoard/horde
hoarse/horse
hole/whole
holey/holy/wholly
hoes/hose
hold/holed
hostel/hostile
hour/our
idle/idol
illicit/elicit
in/inn
insight/incite
instance/instants
intense/intents
its/it's
jam/jamb
colonel/kernel
knap/nap
knead/kneed/need
knight/night
knit/nit
knot/not
know/no
knows/nose
laid/lade
lain/lane
lay/lei
leach/leech
lead/led
leak/leek
lean/lien
leased/least
lee/lea
lessen/lesson
levee/levy
liar/lier/lyre
lichen/liken
lie/lye
lieu/Lou
links/lynx
load/lode
loan/lone
locks/lox
loot/lute
low/lo
made/maid
mail/male
main/mane/Maine
maize/maze
mall/maul
manner/manor
mantel/mantle
marry/merry/Mary
marshal/martial
massed/mast
maybe/may be
meat/meet/mete
medal/metal/mettle/meddle
might/mite
mince/mints
mind/mined
miner/minor
missed/mist
moan/mown
mode/mowed
moose/mousse
morn/mourn
muscle/mussel
mustard/mustered
naval/navel
nay/neigh
none/nun
oar/or/ore
ode/owed
oh/owe
one/won
overdo/overdue
overseas/oversees
pail/pale
pain/pane
pair/pare/pear
palate/palette/pallet
passed/past
patience/patients
pause/paws
pea/pee
peace/piece
peak/peek/pique
peal/peel
pearl/purl
pedal/peddle/petal
peer/pier
per/purr
pi/pie
plait/plate
plain/plane
pleas/please
plum/plumb
pole/poll
pore/pour
pray/prey
presence/presents
prince/prints
principal/principle
profit/prophet
rack/wrack
rain/reign/rein
raise/rays/raze
rap/wrap
rapped/rapt/wrapped
read/red
read/reed
real/reel
reek/wreak
rest/wrest
retch/wretch
review/revue
right/rite/write
ring/wring
road/rode/rowed
roam/Rome
roe/row
role/roll
root/route
rose/rows
rote/wrote
rough/ruff
rung/wrung
rye/wry
sail/sale
scene/seen
scull/skull
sea/see
seam/seem
seas/sees/seize
serf/surf
sew/so/sow
shear/sheer
shoe/shoo
shone/shown
side/sighed
sighs/size
slay/sleigh
sleight/slight
slew/slue/slough
soar/sore
soared/sword
sole/soul
some/sum
son/sun
staid/stayed
stair/stare
stake/steak
stationary/stationery
steal/steel
step/steppe
stile/style
straight/strait
suite/sweet
surge/serge
tacks/tax
tail/tale
taught/taut
tea/tee
team/teem
tear/tier
tern/turn
their/there/they're
theirs/there's
threw/through
thrown/throne
thyme/time
tic/tick
tide/tied
to/too/two
toad/towed
toe/tow
told/tolled
trussed/trust
vain/vane/vein
vale/veil
vary/very
vial/vile
vice/vise
wade/weighed
wail/whale
waist/waste
wait/weight
waive/wave
want/wont
ware/wear/where
way/weigh/whey
ways/weighs
we/wee
weak/week
we'll/wheel
weather/whether
we'd/weed
we've/weave
wet/whet
which/witch
while/wile
whine/wine
who's/whose
wood/would
yoke/yolk
yore/your/you're
you'll/Yule

Regional accents may affect whether words are homophones. For example, in certain parts of the country, weather and whether sound the same. For those of us in the U.S., due and do are pronounced alike, but in most British accents, they sound different.

Teaching Homophones

Students often find homophones interesting and it can be fun teaching them! You may like to teach them as they come up in everyday spelling and reading, or you may prefer to teach them directly. Some kids like to use worksheets—my daughter did. This free workbook provides practice for 40 of the most common homophones.

And some kids really dislike worksheets! For those kids, try some of these other methods of teaching:

*
When a spelling word has a homophone, point it out to your student and have him add it to his own personal list.

*
Take turns making up sentences that contain pairs of homophones—the sillier, the better. "The toad towed the car." "Wait here while I check the elephant's weight."

*
Concentrate on the most important pairs first. The ones needed most often in writing include ad/add, ant/aunt, ate/eight, be/bee, blew/blue, buy/by/bye, hear/here, hour/our, its/it's, know/no, one/won, their/there/they're, theirs/there's, to/too/two, who's/whose, and your/you're.

*
Point out a pair of homophones, such as rose/rows, and ask a question such as "Which word means a flower?"

*
My favorite idea is to find two pictures, like those at the top of the page. Ask the student to match a picture with the WRONG word, instead of the right word. After the student has correctly matched each picture with the wrong word, ask him to match it with the correct one. Pictures add fun to the whole activity.

Short, interesting sessions teach more than long, boring ones, so make them memorable!

I can still remember the day I first found out about homophones. My second grade teacher had a small collection of books in the back of the classroom. After we were done with our work we could choose a book and bring it back to our desk. Well, one day I discovered a book that had pairs of homophones. It was the first time I realized that there were such things, and my pulse quickened. The thrill of such knowledge! I read that book over and over, and to this day I still like these pairs of words!

As teachers—of our own children or a classroom of children—let's take each opportunity to instill a love of learning. There are no "small things" when it comes to teaching.