200 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

A List of Easily Confused Words With Practice

Exercises
By Richard Nordquist

Homonyms are two or more words that have the same sound or
spelling but differ in meaning. Homophones—which means "same
sounds" in Latin—are two or more words, such as knew and new or
meat and meet, that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning,
origin, and often spelling. Homographs, meanwhile, are words that
have the same spelling but differ in origin, meaning, and sometimes
pronunciation, such as the verb bear (to carry or endure) and the noun
bear (the animal with a shaggy coat).
Words that fall under any of these three categories often confuse
readers and writers alike. But they need not perplex you:
Understanding the meaning of these three grammatical terms and,
especially, being able to recognize them can help clear up any
confusion. A list of some of the most common homonyms,
homophones, and homographs can help any writer use these words
correctly and any reader or listener recognize them when they occur.
Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs
Here is a listing of some the most common homonyms, homophones,
and homographs. The first column contains homonyms in alphabetical
order, while the second and third columns list the corresponding
homonym, homophone, or homograph as applicable.
accept - take in except - other than
ad - advertisement add - join, combine
advice - guidance advise - recommend
aid - assist, assistance aide - one who gives
assistance
ail - to suffer poor health ale - a beverage
air - atmosphere ere - before heir - one who inherits
property
aisle - a passage I'll - contraction of I will isle - island
allusion - an indirect illusion - false appearance
reference
altar - table in a church alter - to change
ate - past tense of eat eight - the number 8
bail - to clear water bail - release of a prisoner bale - a large bundle
band - a ring, something band - a group banned - prohibited
that binds
bare - uncovered bear - large animal bear - support, yield
bases - starting points bases - four stations on a basis - a basic principle
baseball field
beat - to strike, overcome beat - exhausted beet - a plant with red roots
blew - past tense of blow blue - the color
bread - baked food item bred - produced
buy - purchase by - near, through bye - goodbye
capital - punishable by capital - chief city capitol - building where
death legislature meets
ceiling - top of a room sealing - setting, fastening
cell - compartment sell - vend
cent - penny coin scent - an odor sent - past tense of send
cereal - breakfast food serial - sequential
chews - gnaws with teeth choose - to select
Chile- country in South chili - bean stew chilly - frosty
America
chord - musical tone cord - rope
cite - quote site - location sight - view
close - opposite of open clothes - clothing
coarse - rough course - path, procedure
complement – enhance; go compliment - praise
together
conduct - behavior conduct - to lead
council - committee counsel - guidance
creak - squeak creek - stream of water
crews - gangs cruise - ride on a boat
days - plural of day daze - stun
dear - darling deer- woodland animal
desert - to abandon desert - dry land dessert - after-dinner treat
dew - morning mist do - operate due - payable
die - cease to exist dye - color
discreet - tactful discrete - distinct
doe - female deer dough - uncooked bread
dual - double duel - battle
elicit - draw out illicit - illegal
eminent - distinguished imminent - soon
ewe - female sheep you - second-person
personal pronoun
eye - sight organ I - first-person personal
pronoun
facts - true things fax - a document
transmitted via telephone
fair - equal fare - price
fairy - elflike creature with ferry - boat
wings
faze - impact phase - stage
feat - achievement feet - plural of foot
find - to discover fined - charged a penalty
fir - type of tree fur - animal hair
flea - small biting insect flee - run
flew - did fly flu - illness
flour - powdery, ground up flower - blooming plant
grain
for - on behalf of fore - front four - three plus one
forth - onward fourth - number four
foreword - introduction to a forward - advancing
book
gene - a chromosome jean - fabric; pants
gorilla - big ape guerrilla - warrior
grease - fat Greece - country in Europe
groan - moan grown - form of grow
hair - head covering hare - rabbit-like animal
hall - passageway haul - tow
halve - cut in two parts have - possess
hay - animal food hey - interjection to get
attention
heal - mend heel - back of foot
hear - to listen here - at this place
hi - hello high - up far
hoarse - croaky horse - riding animal
hole - opening whole - entire
holey - full of holes holy - divine wholly - entirely
hoarse - rough voice horse - animal
hour - sixty minutes our - belonging to us
knead - massage need - desire
knew - did know new - not old
knight - feudal horseman night - evening
knot - tied rope not - negative
know - have knowledge no - opposite of yes
lead - metal led - was the leader
leased - past tense of lease least - the minimum
lessen - make smaller lesson - class
loan - lend lone - solitary
made - did make maid - servant
mail - postage male - opposite of female
material - matter materiel - supplies for an
organization, particularly
the military
marry - to wed merry - very happy
meat - animal protein meet - encounter
mince - to chop finely mints - type of sweet
morning - a.m. mourning - remember the
dead
none - not any nun - woman who takes
special vows
oar - boat paddle or - otherwise ore - mineral
oh - expression of surprise owe - be obligated
or awe
one - single won - did win
overdo - do too much overdue - past due date
pail - bucket pale - not bright
pain - hurt pane - window glass
peace - calm piece - segment
peak – highest point peek - glance
patience - being willing to patients - person treated in
wait a hospital or by a doctor
pear - a type of fruit pair - two (usually pare – to trim a tree /shrub
matching)
plain - ordinary plane - flight machine plane;
 flat surface
pole - post poll - survey
poor - not rich pour - make flow
pray - implore God prey - quarry
principal - most important principle - belief
rain – water from sky rein - bridle
rap - tap wrap - drape around
read - past tense of the verb red - color
to read
real - factual reel - roll
right - correct; not left write - scribble
ring - encircle wring - squeeze
road - street rode - past tense of ride
role - function roll - rotate
rose - flower rows - lines
sail - move by wind power sale - bargain price
scene - landscape seen - viewed
sea - ocean segment see - observe with eyes
seam - joining edge seem - appear
sew - connect with thread so - as a result sow - plant
soar - ascend sore - hurt place
sole - single soul - essence
son - male child sun - the star that lights the
solar system
some - a few sum - amount
stair - step stare - to look at steadily
steal - swipe steel - alloy
suite - large room in a hotel sweet - the opposite of sour
tail - animal’s appendage tale - story
their - belonging to them there - at that place they’re - they are
threw - past tense of throw through - passing from one
place to another
to - toward too - also two - the number 2
toe - foot appendage tow - pull along
vary - differ very - wail - howl
wail - howl whale - huge sea mammal
waist - area below ribs waste - squander
wait – kill time weight - measurable load
war - battle wore - did wear
warn - caution worn - used
way - path weigh - measure mass
we - us wee - tiny
weak - not strong week - seven days
wear - to don attire where - question word
weather - climate whether - if
which - that witch - sorcerer
wood - material coming would - conditional auxiliary
from trees
your - belonging to you you’re - you are

Practice Using Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

Complete each of the following sentences by filling in the blank with
the correct word. You'll find the answers at the end of the exercise. To
heighten interest, all of the sentences are quotes from various authors'
writings in books and magazine articles published over the years. Feel
free to use the previous table to help you if you get stumped.
 “He simply sat down on the ledge and forgot everything _____ [accept or
except] the marvelous mystery.”— Lawrence Sargent Hall
 "I live in the Oakland Hills in a tiny house on a street so windy you can’t drive
more than ten miles per hour. I rented it because the _____ [ad or add] said
this: 'Small house in the trees with a garden and a fireplace. Dogs welcome, of
course.'"— Pam Houston
 "Francis wondered what _____ [advice or advise] a psychiatrist would have
for him."— John Cheever
 "The _____ [aid or aide] gets out of the way, picking her skirt out of the
rubble of children at her feet."— Rosellen Brown
 "He seemed to want to recapture the cosseted feeling he'd had when he'd been
sick as a child and she would serve him flat ginger _____ [ail or ale], and
toast soaked in cream, and play endless card games with him, using his
blanket-covered legs as a table."— Alice Elliott Dark
 "He sat down and leaned forward, pulling the chair's rear legs into the _____
[air, ere, or heir] so that the waitress could get by."— Stanley Elkins
 "The stewardess was moving down the _____ [aisle, I'll, or isle], like a
trained nurse taking temperatures in a hospital ward, to see that they were all
properly strapped in for the take-off."— Martha Gellhorn
 "Mrs. Parmenter laughed at his _____ [allusion or illusion] to their summer
at Mrs. Sterrett's, in Rome, and gave him her coat to hold."— Willa Cather
  "In the long years between, she had fashioned many fine dresses—gowned gay
girls for their conquests and robed fair brides for the _____ [altar or
alter]."— Mary Lerner
 "On a Saturday morning soon after he came to live with her, he turned over
her garbage while she was at the grocery store and _____ [ate or eight]
rancid bacon drippings out of a small Crisco can."— Pam Durban
 "The barn was bigger than a church, and the fall's fresh hay _____ [bails or
bales] were stacked to the roof in the side mows."— John Updike
 "Her two spare dresses were gone, her comb was gone, her checkered coat was
gone, and so was the mauve hair-_____ [band or banned] with a mauve bow
that had been her hat."— Vladimir Nabokov
 "Without the shelter of those trees, there is a great exposure—back yards,
clotheslines, woodpiles, patchy sheds and barns and privies—all _____ [bare
or bear], exposed, provisional looking."— Alice Munro
 "This was the time when outfields were larger than they are today and well-hit
balls would roll for a long time, giving runners ample time to round the
_____ [bases or basis] for a home run."— Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney
 "The conductor had his knotted signal cord to pull, and the motorman _____
[beat or beet] the foot gong with his mad heel."— Saul Bellow
 "Nancy held the cup to her mouth and _____ [blew or blue] into the cup."—
William Faulkner
 "A pigeon landed nearby. It hopped on its little red feet and pecked into
something that might have been a dirty piece of stale _____ [bread or bred]
or dried mud."— Isaac Bashevis Singer
 "He was wearing a new hat of a pretty biscuit shade, for it never occurred to
him to _____ [buy, by, or bye] anything of a practical color; he had put it on
for the first time and the rain was spoiling it."— Katherine Anne Porter

Answers to the Exercise

1. except 2. ad 3. advice 4. aide 5. ale 6. air 7. aisle 8. allusion 9. altar 10. ate 11. bales
12. band 13. bare 14. bases 15. beat 16. blew 17. bread 18. buy