GRAMMAR | Homonyms - Word Pairs - Apostrophe - Its/It's - Whose/Who's - Your/You're

Homonyms

Homonyms are pairs of words which are pronounced the same way, but which are spelled differently and have different meanings. A spellchecker cannot help you choose between two homonyms; you have to be able to recognize on your own which spelling is correct.

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As you can see, English is FULL of homonyms. I've listed below some of the homonyms that cause people the most trouble. In order to choose between the two spellings, you have to know what each word means. If you are  not sure about the meanings of these words, you can use the Firefox Dictionary plugin to click on a work and look up its meaning. Another great place to get help with these words is at the Common Errors in English website.

Not all of these word pairs are pronounced exactly the same by all speakers of English, but the similarity in sound is close enough to cause real confusion:

• AID - AIDE
• ALE - AIL
• ALLOT - ALOT
• ALTAR - ALTER
• ARC - ARK
• ATE - EIGHT
• AW - AWE (the spelling "aw" is used as the interjection; you will not find it in all dictionaries; "awe," on the other hand, is a word with a meaning of its own which you will find in every English dictionary)
• BARE - BEAR
• BE - BEE
• BEAT - BEET
• BEAU - BOW
• BOAR - BORE
• BOARD - BORED
• BORN - BORNE: This pair is tricky because historically they were both used as the past participle of the verb "bear." In modern English, the form "born" (no final -e) is used only in reference to having been born, e.g. "I was born in 1964." The form "borne" is used when referring to something that is being carried, endured, etc.,  Here are some examples: "The paper was borne away (i.e. carried away) by a gust of wind." - "Troubles long borne (i.e. endured) are not soon forgotten."
• BOUGH - BOW
• BRAKE - BREAK
• BREAD - BRED
• BUY - BY
• CAUSE - CAWS
• CHEAP - CHEEP
• CITE - SIGHT - SITE
• CLAUSE - CLAWS
• COARSE - COURSE
• DAWN - DON
• DAYS - DAZE

• DEAR - DEER
• DISCREETLY - DISCRETELY. to act "discretely" is to do something one by one, separately - but to act "discreetly" is to act with discretion, to be careful about what you are doing
• DO - DUE - DEW
• FAINT - FEINT
• FAIR - FARE
• FEAT - FEET
• FLEA - FLEE
• FLOUR - FLOWER
• FOR - FOUR - FORE
• FORTH - FOURTH
• FOUL - FOWL
• GILT - GUILT
• GRATE - GREAT
• HAIR - HARE
• HAY - HEY
• HEAL - HEEL - HE'LL
• HEAR - HERE
• HEARD - HERD
• HEROIN - HEROINE
• HI - HIGH
• HIGHER - HIRE
• HOLE - WHOLE
• HOARSE - HORSE
• HURDLE - HURTLE
• IDLE - IDOL
• INCITE - INSIGHT (these words are actually pronounced differently also: inCITE, like exCITE, is to stir something into motion, as "incite a riot" - but INsight is like intuition, seeing into something
• ITS - IT'S: see this separate page about the words "it's" and "its"
• KNEW - NEW
• KNIGHT - NIGHT
• KNOW - NO
• LEAD - LED ("lead" is a metal, but "led" is the past tense of the verb "lead" which rhymes with "feed")
• LESSEN - LESSON
• LIGHTENING - LIGHTNING (not everybody pronounces these words exactly the same, but they are often confused: lightening is from the verb "to lighten" and lightning is what you see flash in the sky)
• LOAD - LODE
• LOAN - LONE
• MADE - MAID
• MAIL - MALE
• MARY (proper name) - MARRY - MERRY
• MEAT - MEET - METE
• MIGHT - MITE
• MIND - MINED
• MORN - MOURN
• MORNING - MOURNING
• NONE - NUN
• OAR - OR - ORE
• ONE - WON
• OWE - OH
• PAIL - PALE
  
• PAIR - PARE - PEAR
• PASSED - PAST: This pair is tricky because they are both forms of the verb "pass." The word "passed" is used for the past tense of this verb ("We passed a gas station two miles back"), and also the perfect verb forms ("I'm afraid you have not passed the course this semester"). The word "past" is used only as a noun ("It is better to forget about the past.") or as an adjective ("From past experience, I know this is a good restaurant.")
• PATIENCE - PATIENTS
• PAUSE - PAWS
• PEACE - PIECE
• PEDAL - PETAL (flowers have petals; a pedal is what you press your foot on in the car - it's related to the word "ped-estrian," someone who walks on foot)
• PEAK - PEEK - PIQUE
• PLAIN - PLANE
• PLEAS - PLEASE
• POOR - POUR - PORE
• PRAISE - PRAYS
• PRAY - PREY
• PRIDE - PRIED
• PROFIT - PROPHET
• RAIN - REIGN - REINS
• RAISE - RAYS
• READ - REED
• READ - RED
• REAL - REEL
• RIGHT - RITE - WRITE
• RING - WRING
• ROAD - RODE - ROWED
• ROLE - ROLL
• ROOT - ROUTE
• ROSE - ROWS
• SAIL - SALE
• SCENE - SEEN
• SEA - SEE
• SEAM - SEEM
• SENSE - SINCE
• SHEAR - SHEER
• SIDE - SIGHED
• SO - SEW - SOW
• SOAR - SORE
• SOARED - SWORD
• SOLE - SOUL
• STAKE - STEAK
• STEAL - STEEL
• STRAIGHT - STRAIT
• SOME - SUM
• SON - SUN
• SONNY - SUNNY
• SUITE  - SWEET
• TAIL - TALE
• TAUGHT - TAUT
• TEAR - TARE
  
• THEIR - THERE - THEY'RE
• THREW - THROUGH (THRU)
  
• THRONE - THROWN
• TIDE - TIED
• TO - TOO - TWO
• TOAD - TOED
• VAIN - VANE - VEIN
• VERSES - VERSUS
• WAIL - WHALE - WALES (proper name)
• WAIST - WASTE
• WAIT - WEIGHT
• WAIVE - WAVE
  
• WAY - WEIGH
• WEAK - WEEK
• WEAL - WHEEL
• WHILE - WILE
• WHINE - WINE
• YOUR - YOU'RE: see this separate page about the words "your" and "you're"