Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings. They can be a source of confusion for writers and speakers of English, but they also add depth and complexity to the language. Understanding homophones is crucial for clear and effective communication in both spoken and written forms. In this article, we will explore various homophones in English, providing examples and meanings to help you grasp their usage.
What are homophones?
A homophone is a word that has almost the same pronunciation as the other word but has a different meaning. Homophones are word that has different spellings, and different meaning i.e.
- Sun – Son
- Able – Abel
- Marry – Merry
- Mare – Mere
Common Homophones in English
| Homophones | Meaning | |
| 1. | Abject
Object |
Hateful
Purpose |
| The poor surroundings caused abject misery.
Can you describe the object? |
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| 2. | Adapt
Adopt |
Make according
Take on, Accept |
| He needed to adapt his strategies when dealing with her.
They decided to adopt a child. |
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| 3. | Admit
Confess |
Got admission
Accept mistake |
| Don’t be afraid to admit to your mistakes.
I confess to some suspicion of your honesty. |
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| 4. | Affect
Effect |
Mask, show something else
Result |
| Colorado was affected by severe flooding last summer.
The snow had a predictable effect on traffic. |
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| 5. | Oar
Ore |
a pole with a flat blade
Ore is a rock that contains minerals like iron |
| We each took an oar.
Iron ores have been found in most of the states |
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| 6. | Lessen
Lesson |
Reduce something
tutorial |
| They gave her an injection to lessen the pain.
I enjoyed the lesson on world history. |
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| 7. | Loath | Not Agreed
Hate for |
| The little girl was loath to leave her mother.
I loathe these horrible roads, but I love the places they take you. |
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| 8. | Lose
Loose |
Left
Not fixed in place |
| I lose a lot of money during Pandemic.
This tooth is loose. |
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| 9. | Marry
Merry |
Join together (Husband wife relation)
Happy, joy |
| John Wants to Marry Jackeline.
He laughed at that, and his laugh was merry and frank. |
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| 10. | Mare
Mere |
Female horse
Just, bit |
| She urged her mare to jump the fence.
I have mere two coins. |
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| 11. | Miner
Minor |
Digger
Tint, small |
| My friend is a miner.
He suffered a minor heart attack. |
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| 12. | Feat
Feet |
Exercise for others fun
paw, forepaw, hind paw, hoof |
| It’s no wonder fans are fascinated by the feat..
Her feet are nice and clean. |
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| 13. | Float
Swim |
Hover, slide, flow
Dip, Dive |
| Cork can float on water.
Rima knows how to swim. |
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| 14. | Foul
Fowl |
Wrong play
Bird |
| Please stop playing foul games.
Fowl is a beautiful bird. |
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| 15. | Heal
Heel |
Cure, remedy, restore
Shoe base |
| Doctor has no heal for his pain.
She was looking gorgeous in her black heals. |
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| 16. | Industrial
Industrious |
Related to factory and manufacturing
Hardworking |
| Industrial growth is of vital importance for a Country.
His brother is a industrious person. |
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| 17. | Sore
Soar |
Painful
Lift, zoom, moving upwards |
| She rubbed a sore spot in her lower back.
An eagle was soaring high up in the air. |
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| 18. | Stair
Stare |
Lift
Look, gaze |
| She tripped over a stair and landed hard.
Stop Staring at me. |
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| 19. | Steal
Steel |
Act of thief, swipe, sneak
Metal |
| Your goal is to steal a necklace with a red gem on it.
He emerged from the thick steel walls into the sunlight. |
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| 21. | Vain
Vein |
No gain
Rug, skin tube, blood vessels |
| I too hoped and waited for one until now- but in vain.
The veins in his hands are really thick and easy to see under the skin. |
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| 22. | Waist
Waste |
Midsection of human body
Garbage |
| He put an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.
I consigned her letter to the waste basket. |
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| 23. | Calendar
Calendar |
Date teller
A machine that can smooth cloth |
| Do you have next year’s calendar?
Calender is glazing coater matching equipment. |
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| 24. | Casual
Causal |
Effort less
Lesson giving, creative |
| He tried to look casual.
No causal connection between the events was found. |
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| 25. | Artist
Artiste |
Actor
Related to singing |
| Everyone wanted to meet the artist and discuss the work they were interested in.
She was a popular French music hall artiste in the late 19th century. |
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- gneiss – nice
- caw – core – corps
- toad – toed – towed
- pain – pane
- be – bee
- air – heir
- roo – roux – rue
- lade – laid
- foreword – forward
- braise – brays – braze
- their – there
- none – nun
- doe – doh – dough
- bald – bawled
- steal – steel
- slay – sleigh
- maw – more
- colonel – kernel
- ton – tun
- pascal – paschal
- beat – beet
- alms – arms
- te – tea – tee
- stair – stare
- morning – mourning
- dear – deer
- tale – tail
- Sort – Sought
- moat – mote
- currant – current
- sew – so
- mail – male
- hall – haul
- check – cheque
- toe – tow
- pair – pare – pear
- be – bee
- aisle – isle
- wain – wane
- pearl – purl
- heal – heel
- blew – blue
- away – aweigh
- whit – wit
- rheum – room
- knock – nock
- flew – flu – flue
- who’s – whose
- right – write
- knot – not
- floe – flow
- rood – rude
- lain – lane
- fort – fought
- brake – break
- scull – skull
- lo – low
- greave – grieve
- cell – sell
- suite – sweet
- sole – soul
- medal – meddle
- cops – copse
- threw – through
- oar – or
- douse – dowse
- band – banned
- seam – seem
- locks – lox
- groan – grown
- cent – scent
