Homophones And Homonyms List And Examples
Homophones and homonyms can be confusing for ESL students. In this blog post, we’ll provide a list of common homophones and homonyms, along with examples to help you understand how to use them correctly.
What are Homophones and Homonyms?
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings, such as “bear” (the animal) and “bear” (to carry), or “lead” (the metal) and “lead” (to guide). Homonyms are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings, such as “read” (to interpret written information) and “read” (to say out loud).
Examples of Homophones
1) Male – Mail
- She does not eat with males.
- I have not received your mail.
2) There – They’re
- There is a cat on their roof.
- They’re going to their house.
3) To – Too – Two
- I am going to the store.
- You are too loud.
- He has two dogs.
4) Its – It’s
- Its fur is matted and dirty. It needs a bath.
- It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.
5) Then – Than
- I was going to eat then.
- I am taller than you.
6) Who – Whom
- Who is that man?
- To whom are you speaking?
7) Where – Were
- Where is your house?
- We were just at the store.
Examples of Homonyms
1) Bought – Butted
- I bought a new shirt.
- He butted me with his head.
2) Hair – Hear
- I need to get my hair cut.
- Can you hear me over there?
3) Lead – Led
- The lead singer led the band.
- The lightbulb led me to the fuse box.
4) Pair – Pear
- She has a pair of shoes.
- I ate a pear for breakfast.
5) Peace – Piece
- I hope to achieve peace in the world.
- Can I have another piece of cake?
6) Principal – Principle
- The principal is the head of the school.
- The principle is something that is fundamental or basic.
7) Sight – Site
- I need to get my eyes checked.
- He siteSeeing was his favorite hobby.
8) Then – Than
- We went out then we came home.
- You are taller than me.
9) Weather – Whether
- The weather is cloudy today.
- Do you want to go outside or stay inside?
List of Homophones
- flew – flu – flue
- bloc – block
- principal – principle
- gait – gate
- galipot – gallipot
- ewe – yew – you
- lac – lack
- boar – bore
- some – sum
- fah – far
- medal – meddle
- colonel – kernel
- sort – sought
- buy – by
- gorilla – guerilla
- aisle – isle
- hart – heart
- profit – prophet
- steal – steel
- pawn – porn
- whine – wine
- real – reel
- stair – stare
- steal – steel
- meat – meet – mete
- talk – torque
- baize – bays
- mark – marque
- few – phew
- wood – would
- base – bass
- weaver – weever
- buyer – byre
- tale – tail
- close – cloze
- none – nun
- braid – brayed
- mask – masque
- clew – clue
- oh – owe
- band – banned
- saw – soar – sore
- oar – or
- pause – paws – pores – pours
- grate – great
- tic – tick
- broach – brooch
- foaled – fold
- fir – fur
- weak – week
- accessary – accessory
- bard – barred
- shoe – shoo
- we’d – weed
- bean – been
- ode – owed
- lead – led
- sight – site
- foul – fowl
- son – sun
- forth – fourth
- gilt – guilt
- to – too
- hangar – hanger
- none – nun
- complement – compliment
- knight – night
- flour – flower
- staid – stayed
- rye – wry
- waist – waste
- clack – claque
- told – tolled
- peal – peel
- wean – ween
- toe – tow
- were – whirr
- manna – manner
- road – rode
- berry – bury
- lie – lye
- threw – through
- wax – whacks
- beach – beech
- coarse – course
- greys – graze
- which – witch
- cereal – serial
- quean – queen
- hoard – horde
- steal – steel
- boarder – border
- rode – road
- cue – kayo – queue
- shake – sheikh
- crews – cruise
- sea – see
- air – heir
- bazaar – bizarre
- root – route
- aye – eye – i
- ho – hoe
- fair – fare
- rheum – room
List of Homonyms
- coughers – coffers
- accept – except
- cozen – cousin
- ax – acts
- dyeing – dying
- axes – axis
- fate – fete
- coup – coo
- addition – edition
- craft – kraft
- beet – beat
- fax – facts
- bib – bibb
- flour – flower
- affected – effected
- crawl – kraal
- byte – bight
- fort – forte
- berry – bury
- feat – feet
- bussed – bust
- flu – flue – flew
- all ready – already
- crepe – crape
- bight – bite
- flow – floe
- axel – axle
- fare – fair
- bell – belle
- faze – phase
- but – butt
- flyer – flier
- corps – core
- colonel – kernel
- graft – graphed
- cain – cane
- gored – gourd
- course – coarse
- accede – exceed
- coy – koi
- coolie – coulee
- graham – gram
- coulee – coolie
- cousin – cozen
- affect – effect
- crape – crepe
- buy – by – bye
- foaled – fold
- berth – birth
- feint – faint
- coral – choral
- hertz – hurts
- cops – copse
- heroin – heroine
- caddie – caddy
- gofer – gopher
- cheap – cheep
- gorilla – guerilla
- council – counsel
- ale – ail
- creak – creek
- abel – able
- coward – cowered
- better – bettor
- fends – fens
- check – Czech
- gourd – gored
- adds – adz
- coop – coupe
- graphed – graft
- core – corps
- clique – click
- grade – grayed
- beer – bier
- faun – fawn
- cache – cash
- gnu – knew – new
- cord – cored
- cored – chord
- bury – berry
- flower – flour
