Over 300 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs (With Exercises) (original) (raw)

A List of Easily Confused Words That Sound or Look the Same

A bare bear. GeoStock/Getty Images

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.

List of Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

Here is a list of some of 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.

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.

1. “He simply sat down on the ledge and forgot everything _____ [accept or except] the marvelous mystery.”
   — Lawrence Sargent Hall
2. "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
3. "Francis wondered what _____ [advice or _advise_] a psychiatrist would have for him."
   — John Cheever
4. "The _____ [aid or _aide_] gets out of the way, picking her skirt out of the rubble of children at her feet."
   — Rosellen Brown
5. "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
6. "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
7. "[T]he 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
8. "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
9. "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
10. "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
11. "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
12. "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
13. "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
14. "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
15. "The conductor had his knotted signal cord to pull, and the motorman _____ [beat or _beet_] the foot gong with his mad heel."
    — Saul Bellow
16. "Nancy held the cup to her mouth and _____ [blew or _blue_] into the cup."
    — William Faulkner
17. "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
18. "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

Key Takeaways

• Homonyms, homophones, and homographs all involve words that sound or look alike but have different meanings, origins, or spellings.
• Homonyms, like "bank" (a financial institution) and "bank" (the edge of a river), share either the same spelling or pronunciation but convey entirely different meanings or origins.
• Homophones, such as "write" (to mark or compose) and "right" (opposite of left), sound the same when spoken yet carry different meanings, origins, and often spellings.