Notorious confusables

Contents
1. ACCESS / EXCESS__________________________________________________________________2
2. AMONG / BETWEEN________________________________________________________________2
3. AS / LIKE___________________________________________________________________________2
4. BASE / BASS_______________________________________________________________________2
5. BEAR / BEER_______________________________________________________________________2
6. BEGIN / START_____________________________________________________________________2
7. BOARD / BORED____________________________________________________________________2
8. BRAKE / BREAK_____________________________________________________________________3
9. CARE / MIND / MATTER_____________________________________________________________3
10. CHECK / CHEQUE___________________________________________________________________3
11. DEAR / DEER_______________________________________________________________________3
12. DIE / DYE___________________________________________________________________________3
13. DROP / FALL / SPILL________________________________________________________________3
14. EXPECT / HOPE_____________________________________________________________________4
15. FOOD / FOOT_______________________________________________________________________4
16. HEAR / LISTEN______________________________________________________________________4
17. HE’S / HIS__________________________________________________________________________4
18. HEAL / HEEL / HE’LL________________________________________________________________4
19. HEAR / HERE_______________________________________________________________________4
20. HOLE / WHOLE_____________________________________________________________________4
21. HOUR / OUR________________________________________________________________________4
22. KNOW / NOW / NO__________________________________________________________________5
23. MAJOR / MAYOR____________________________________________________________________5
24. MAY BE / MAYBE___________________________________________________________________5
25. NECESSARY / NECESSITY___________________________________________________________5
26. OTHER / OTHERS / THE OTHER / ANOTHER__________________________________________5
27. PLAIN / PLANE______________________________________________________________________5
28. READ / RED________________________________________________________________________5
29. RECEIPT / RECIPE___________________________________________________________________6
30. RIGHT / WRITE_____________________________________________________________________6
31. ROAD / RODE______________________________________________________________________6
32. SENSE / SENSES____________________________________________________________________6
33. SPEAK / TALK_______________________________________________________________________6
34. SUIT / SUITE / SWEET_______________________________________________________________6
35. THEIRS / THERE____________________________________________________________________7
36. THREW / THROUGH________________________________________________________________7
37. WAIST / WASTE____________________________________________________________________7
38. WANDER / WONDER________________________________________________________________7
39. WERE / WHERE / WE’RE____________________________________________________________7
40. WHICH / WITCH____________________________________________________________________7
Choose the correct word from the following pairs:
1. ACCESS / EXCESS
1. Senior students have _________ to the library at weekends.
2. An _________ of enthusiasm is not always a good thing.
3. Hackers had complete _________ to the company files.
4. They both eat to _________.
2. AMONG / BETWEEN
1. I saw something lying __________the wheels of the bus.
2. We found a little house hidden __________the trees.
3. He shared his property __________his wife, his daughter, and his sister.
4. How can you find anything __________ all these papers!.
3. AS / LIKE
1. His ringtone sounded ______ an alarm.
2. Strong leaders, ______ Winston Churchill, are few and far between.
3. Tom has joined a telephone company ______ product manager.
4. Considered ______ a whole, the project's very good.
4. BASE / BASS
1. One of the lieutenants of the army ________ liked to play ________ guitar.
2. At the ________ of the cliff was a rocky beach.
3. The fisherman hauled an enormous ________ out of the river with his bare
hands.
4. I accused him of having ________ motives.
5. BEAR / BEER
1. Last night, I dreamt of a huge brown ________ drinking ________.
2. Don’t give up ! If you ________ down with all your strength, you’ll win.
3. After a hard day’s work I enjoy a ________ or two.
4. The chair, too fragile to ________ her weight, collapsed.
6. BEGIN / START
1. The book was very technical and I couldn't __________ to understand what it
was about.
2. It __________ off well, but I soon got bored.
3. Losing the contract was the ___________ of the end of his career.
4. My car wouldn't __________ this morning, so I had to come by bus.
7. BOARD / BORED
1. He was really _________ with playing the same _________ games all the time.
2. When you went to school were you a day student or did you _________?
3. He _________ the dog out when he goes on business trips.
4. I pretended to listen, but I was _________ to death.
5. As soon as I was on _________, I began to have second thoughts about leaving.
8. BRAKE / BREAK
1. You’re supposed to put the hand_________ on whenever you stop on a hill.

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2. You’d better stop driving and take a _________. You look tired and _________
nonstop.
3. I need to _________ these shoes in before we run next week.
4. The cyclist didn’t use his _________ in time, causing his bicycle to _________
when it hit the wall.
9. CARE / MIND / MATTER
1. It doesn't _________ how much it costs. I really want to go.
2. I really don't _________ what happens- I'm sick to death of it all.
3. Would you _________ if I opened the window?
4. Do you _________ to join us for dinner?
5. What really _________ is how hard you try.
6. I don't _________havinga dog in the house so long as it's clean.
10. CHECK / CHEQUE
1. Is Mr. Smith still at the hotel? No, he __________ out this morning.
2. I don’t have any cash on me, so could I pay by __________?
3. Please make your __________ payable to The Brighter Toyshop Ltd.
4. After finished the exam, I __________ my answers for mistakes.

11. DEAR / DEER

1. This car is very ________. I can’t afford to buy it.
2. A ________ have been seen in the area. But I haven’t seen it yet.
3. Oh ________ ! Here we go again !
4. Her most ________ memory of their vacation was getting to see some ________
in the forest.
12. DIE / DYE
1. She thought her dog would ______ after it had drunk that bowl of blue ______.
2. I get grey! I think I’ll ______ my hair from now on.
3. After harvest, the hop plants ______ back.
4. I used to wrong ______ form my painting. It’s to ______ for!

13. DROP / FALL / SPILL

1. You have_________ some wine on the tablecloth. I hope I’ll get the stain out!
2. A bird _________ a snake on the wires when I was looking out of the window.
3. I was in such a hurry that I _________ down the stairs and broke my leg.
4. It’s no use crying over _________ milk.
5. John, could you give me a lift and _________ me at the bus station, please?
6. The athlete _________ at the first hurdle and lost all chances to get the prize.

14. EXPECT / HOPE

1. I __________ it won’t rain this evening. We’re going out for a late walk.
2. My trip took me longer than I __________.
3. He hasn’t received his test mark yet, but he __________he will do well.
4. He is a wise young man. Do you __________ him to change his mind?

15. FOOD / FOOT

1. There was a lot of ________ at the party.
2. Are you going by bicycle or on ________?
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3. Thank you for your suggestion - it gave us a lot of ________ for thought.
4. They built a house at the ________ of a cliff.

16. HEAR / LISTEN

1. Be careful- I've ________ a number of strange things about them.
2. I told him about it, but he never ________to me.
3. OK, this is important, so please ________ carefully.
4. She was talking very quietly; did you _________ what she just said?

17. HE’S / HIS

1. _______ got some money but not much.
2. The thief lift _______fingerprints on the glass.
3. _______ fellow colleagues could no longer put up with these lies of _______.
4. _______ a dentist. And _______ wife is a doctor.

18. HEAL / HEEL / HE’LL

1. If he goes to the doctor, _______ quickly _______.
2. A broken heart takes a long time to _______.
3. She turned on her _______ and went back to her room.
4. _______ have to stay in the hospital for a bit longer to let his _______ _______.

19. HEAR / HERE

1. _______ me out and then tell me what you think of the plan.
2. I can’t _______ the music _______. Can you turn it up, please?
3. There were a few books _______ and there, but apart from that the room was
quite bare.
4. Come over _______ so that you can _______ what I have to say.

20. HOLE / WHOLE

1. She ate the ________ donut, ________ and all.
2. I need it like a ________ in the head.
3. There’s a ________ in my bucket. That’s why it isn’t ________.
4. I was sick yesterday. But now I feel a ________ lot better.

21. HOUR / OUR

1. My plumber charges £20 an _______.
2. They met _______ principal. _______ principal spoke to them for an _______.
3. We went to a picnic. We all took _______ lunch boxes with us.
4. It took us an _______ to get back to _______ home.

22. KNOW / NOW / NO

1. You should _______by_______ how to make a cake.
2. I’ve got _______ money and _______ problems.
3. _______ you’re here I will show you.
4. The parents didn’t _______ why their toddler kept saying “_______” to
everything.
23. MAJOR / MAYOR
1. His father was a __________ in the Scots Guard.
2. He became the first directly elected __________ of London in 2001.

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3. Citrus fruits are a __________ source of vitamin C.
4. What is your __________, English or French?

24. MAY BE / MAYBE

1. He ________forty, but he is acting like a child.
2. Where is Julie? I don’t know. ________ she’s in the dining room.
3. This ________ the last match that he plays for Barcelona.
4. I think ________ I ought to go round there and apologize for what I said.

25. NECESSARY / NECESSITY

1. Just do what’s ______________ and then leave.
2. You can come early if you want, but there’s no ______________.
3. We brought only the bare ______________ with us.
4. Was it really ______________ for you to say that?

26. OTHER / OTHERS / THE OTHER/ ANOTHER

1. We don’t need those books, we need _________ ones.
2. The investigation will take _________ two weeks.
3. Some children learn quickly but _________ children need more time.
4. Please give me _________ chance. I promise to try harder.
5. 80% of the students arrive on time. The _________ are always late.
6. You’ve already had an ice-cream. You can’t have _________ one.

27. PLAIN / PLANE

1. Look, the ________ is flying over the ________.
2. His work is on a complete different ________ of other writers.
3. The economic cabin of the ________ looked ________.
4. It’s quite ________ that they don’t want to speak to us.

28. READ / RED

1. I ________ in the advertisement that the ________ shoes I wanted were on sale.
2. ________ is the first colour of the rainbow.
3. The boy enjoyed the book he ________ that had a ________ cover.
4. She ________ his lips across the busy conference hall - “Time to go.”

29. RECEIPT / RECIPE

1. If you’ve got your _________, you can usually exchange the goods.
2. You need a can of tuna for this _________.
3. Goods will be delivered on _________ of payment.
4. For real South Asian food, just follow these _________.

30. RIGHT / WRITE

1. The journalist decided that it was the ________ thing to ________ and publish the
article.
2. The exam wasn’t difficult. I’ve got the most answers ________.
3. You’re ________. I should ________ the last chapter differently.
4. I had to ________ down the message on a slip of paper.

31. ROAD / RODE

1. The doctor says she’s on the _______ to recovery.
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2. Some of the travellers walker in the _______ and some _______ by bike.
3. After two days on the _______, they reached the coast.
4. She _______ to the airport by taxi and asked the taxi driver to take the fastest
_______.
5. Last week it was the first time I_______a horse.

32. SENSE / SENSES

1. That’s a silly comment! Have you lost your _________ ?
2. The words you’ve written don’t make _________.
3. It’s difficult to understand the _________ of that sentence.
4. It’s about time you came to your _________ and began to behave reasonably.
5. He has a good _________ of humour.

33. SPEAK / TALK

1. She _________ several languages.
2. He has been _________ about the new film for over an hour.
3. There's a serious problem- I think we should _________.
4. He had a sore throat, so he was unable to _________.

34. SUIT / SUITE / SWEET

1. The city lifestyle seems to ________ her - she looks great.
2. We’re having a new bathroom ________ fitted at the weekend.
3. It was really ________ of the hotel to upgrade the married couple to the
honeymoon ________ for free.
4. I won’t buy this ________. I don’t like the colour. All right, ________ yourself!
5. She was enjoying the ________ smell of success.

35. THEIRS / THERE’S

1. I think she’s a relation of __________.
2. __________ a time and a place for everything.
3. That’s not my friends’ house. __________ has got a red front door.
4. __________ never been such an exciting election as this.

36. THREW / THROUGH

1. He _________ the baseball right _________ his neighbour’s front window.
2. Peter went _________ a lot of pain after the accident.
3. I didn’t have much time, so I quickly _________ a meal together.
4. My sweater is _________ at the elbows.

37. WAIST / WASTE

1. His _________ continued to grow and grow, but no food was allowed to _______ I
his house.
2. It’s not worth while. I don’t _______ breath on that!
3. She worries too much about her _______ line.
4. Reading English is not a _______ of time.

38. WANDER / WONDER

1. I don’t __________ she burst into tears after the way you spoke to her.
2. Halfway through the meeting, my mind started to __________.

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3. My aunt says that eating an apple every day can do __________ for your health.
4. I lost my cat. I __________ where it is now. Probably __________ing the streets.

39. WERE / WHERE / WE’RE

1. _________ are we now? _________ on Maple Street.
2. We _________ too tired to go out yesterday. But today _________ going to the
cinema.
3. I’ve left my keys some_________ and I don’t know _________.
4. We _________ lucky. We won the first prize.

40. WHICH / WITCH

1. _________ of these painting do you like best?
2. Dorothy didn’t know _________ direction to go in order to get to the good
_________.
3. Trees of _________ the leaves are bright green are often leafless in winter.
4. I don’t believe a _________ doctor can cure people using magic.

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Key
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 access excess access excess
2 between among between among
3 like like as as
4 base, bass base bass base
5 bear, beer bear beer bear
6 begin started beginning start
7 bored, board board boards bored board
8 brake break, brake break brake, break
9 matter care mind care matters mind
10 checked cheque cheques checked
11 dear deer dear dear, deer
12 die, dye dye die dye, die
13 spilt dropped fell spilled drop fell
14 hope expected hopes expect
15 food foot food foot
16 heard listens listen hear
17 He’s his His, his He’s, his
18 he’ll, heal heal heel He’ll, heel,
heal
19 Hear hear, here here here, hear
20 whole, hole hole hole, whole whole
21 hour our, Our, hour our hour, our
22 know, now no, no Now know, no
23 major mayor major major
24 may be Maybe may be maybe
25 necessary necessity necessities necessary
26 other another other another others another
27 plane, plain plane plane, plain plain
28 read, red Red read, red read
29 receipt recipe receipt recipes
30 right, write right right, write write
31 road road, rode road rode, road rode
32 senses sense sense senses sense
33 speaks talking talk speak
34 suit suite sweet, suite suit, suit sweet
35 theirs There’s Theirs There’s
36 threw, through threw through
through
37 waist, waste waste waist waste
38 wonder wander wonders wonder,
wandering
39 Where, We’re were, we’re where, where were
40 Which which, witch which witch

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