Homophone Example

Homophone

As mentioned above, sets of words like “you’re” and “your” are called homophones. The root of that word, homo-, means “same,” and the root phone- means “sound.” Homophones are two words that sound the same, but have different meanings. So the words “two” and “to” are homophones, as are “ate” and “eight.”

Examples:

1. ate, eight

ate (verb): This is the simple past tense of the verb “to eat.”

eight (noun): The number after seven and before nine.

2. bare, bear

bare (adjective): If something is bare, it means that it’s not covered or not decorated.

bear (noun): A large mammal.

3. buy, by, bye

to buy (verb): A synonym of “to purchase.” It’s probably one of the first verbs you learned.

by (preposition): This can be used in many different ways. It’s commonly used to mean “next to” or “near” when describing a location. It can also indicate who created something.

bye (exclamation): This is a shortening of “goodbye.”

4. cell, sell

cell (noun): A cell is a small area or room, usually in a prison. A cell can also be one of the smallest divisions of a living organism.

to sell (verb): To exchange a product or service for money. Like “buy,” it was probably one of the first verbs you learned.

5. dew, do, due

dew (noun): Dew is the name for small drops of water that accumulate (gather) on plants and other objects outside during the night.

to do (verb): This common verb is used to indicate an action. It can also be an auxiliary verb.

due (adjective): This is used to indicate the deadline (final day) that something can happen. It’s also used to indicate when a baby will probably be born.

6. eye, I

eye (noun): The part of your body that you use to see.

I (pronoun): A first person singular subject pronoun.

7. fairy, ferry

fairy (noun): A mythical creature that can often do magic.

ferry (noun): A ferry is a boat that moves passengers and vehicles across water. It’s used for long distances or places where there are no bridges.

8. flour, flower

flour (noun): This is the main ingredient in bread. It’s a powder made from ground grains.

flower (noun): The decorative, colorful part of a plant.

9. for, four

for (preposition): This preposition is usually used to indicate a person who receives something, or to indicate a purpose.

four (noun): The number after three and before five.

10. hear, here

to hear (verb): This is the action that you do with your ears. The sense is called “hearing.”

here (adverb): “Here” indicates the place where you are at any moment. It’s the opposite of “there,” basically.

11. hour, our

hour (noun): A period of time that lasts 60 minutes.

our (pronoun): This is the possessive pronoun form of “we.”

12. know, no

to know (verb): To have knowledge or understanding about something.

no (determiner): This indicates a negation or something that’s not true.

13. knight, night

knight (noun): A man given a special honor (or rank) by a king or queen. Their title is usually “Sir.”

night (noun): The period of time when it’s dark and most people sleep.

14. mail, male

(to) mail (verb or noun): As a noun, this is a collective noun for letters and packages. As a verb, this means to send something to somebody. Email also comes from this word.

male (adjective or noun): An adjective (or noun) indicating that something is masculine or has masculine reproductive organs.

15. marry, merry

to marry (verb): The action when two people have a wedding; also called “to get married.”

merry (adjective): A synonym for “happy,” but less common in modern English. Mostly used in phrases like “Merry Christmas!”

16. meat, meet

meat (noun): Edible flesh from an animal.

to meet (verb): When you are introduced to a person for the first time. It can also refer to later meetings.

17. pair, pear

pair (noun): A set of two things that go together.

pear (noun): A delicious fruit.

18. right, write

right (adjective): This can mean either a synonym of “correct” or the opposite of “left.”

to write (verb): The action of making words or marks to represent ideas.

19. sight, site

sight (noun): This is the sense that you use when you see or look.

site (noun): This is a synonym for “place.” The most common modern use is in the word “website.”

20. son, sun

son (noun): A male child.

sun (noun): The star at the center of our solar system. It’s that big yellow thing in the sky during the day.

21. their, there, they’re

their (pronoun): The possessive pronoun for the subject “they.”

there (adverb): Remember the word “here” above? This is basically the opposite of that. “There” can refer to any place where you are not at.

they’re (contraction): This is a contraction of the phrase “they are.”

22. to, too, two

to (preposition): This usually indicates a direction that something is moving.

too (adverb): “Too” can usually either mean “also,” or it can indicate that there is more of something than necessary (and it’s usually a problem).

two (noun): The number after one and before three.

23. one, won

one (noun): The number after zero and before two.

won (verb): “Won” is the simple past and past participle form of the verb “to win.”

24. wait, weight

to wait (verb): This means to stay in one place or to anticipate something.

weight (noun): This word indicates how heavy something is.

25. wear, where

to wear (verb): To have clothing or accessories on your body.

where (interrogative): A question word used to ask for a location.