Homophones

English is absolutely full of words that sound or look the same but have different meanings. And we have words for these kinds of words: homophones, homographs, and homonyms. But remembering the difference can be its own challenge. In this article, we’ll break down the differences and the overlap and provide examples of all three. ⚡ Quick summary Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings, like there/their/they’re and its/it’s. Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Homographs can be pronounced differently (like bass the fish and bass the instrument) or the same (like fair meaning “equitable” or “a carnival”). The word homonyms is often used to refer to all such words in general. Some words, like bark, fall into more than one category— bark on a tree and bark of a dog are both homophones (sounding the same) and homographs (being spelled the same), for example. What is the difference between homophones, homonyms, and homographs? There is a helpful way to tell the difference between the words homophone, homograph, and homonym: knowing what their endings mean can help you remember how they’re used. Homophone, homonym, and homograph all start with homo-, which means “same.” The -phone in homophone means “sound.” So homophones are words that sound the same. Homophones always have different meanings, but they may be spelled the same or differently. Bear (the animal) and bare (meaning “uncovered” or “empty”) are homop...

Polish your grammar with Microsoft Editor Test your writing with Editor's free grammar checker. Learn More What is a Homophone? These are also sometimes called sound-alike words. Homophones ( homo– meaning “same” and – phones, from – phonos, meaning “sound”) are words that have the same sound, but not the same meaning or the same spelling. • • Ewe, yew, and you • Cite, sight, and site • Their, there, and they’ret • To, too, and two What is a Homograph? Homographs (again, with homo– meaning “same,” but now with – graph, from “ graphein,” meaning “to write”) are words that are spelled the same but are usually (but not always) pronounced differently and have different meanings. • Bow (of a ship or that shoots arrows) • Close (to shut or being near) • Lead (a metal or being ahead) • Present (a gift or showing something) • Read (you are reading or you did read) What is a Homonym? When we say a word has more than one meaning, we’re usually talking about a homonym, which is spelled and said the same across different definitions. Homonyms (you guessed it— homo– meaning “same,” and – nym, from “ onyma,” meaning “name”) can be homophones or homographs—or both. • Bark (from a dog or on a tree) • Bow (for hair or for shooting arrows) • Hail (weather or praising) • Play (a stage act or a pastime) • Taxes (a levied fee or something that drains or tires) What about Heteronyms, Heterographs & Heterophones? It stands to reason that if the Greek root homo-, for “same,” has the counterpart h...

Learn the difference between two, too, and to. One of our readers wrote in to ask about the homophones too and to: “I was trying to find something on how and when to use ‘to and too’ I am having trouble in that area. I have trouble with that a lot and I tend to mess up with that. Can you help and do you already have something posted about that? I can’t find anything on it.” There’s actually a third homophone in this group, which sounds like too and to, although it’s not mixed up with them as often as they are mixed up with each other. That would be the word for the numeral 2, which is two. Even though they have distinctly different meanings and spellings, these words can be confusing because they sound exactly alike. The Difference Between Two, Too, and To Luckily, each of these three homophones belongs to a different part of speech. As such, the way we use these words in sentences varies considerably, and that makes them a little easier to remember. The first step in learning to differentiate between two, too, and to is to understand their meanings. Two Two is a noun; it’s also a numeral, a word that stands for the number 2. Example: I have two dogs. Too Too is an adverb, and it’s most commonly used to mean the following: also, an excessive extent, more than should be, or very. Examples: You’re writing? I’m writing, too. (also) There are too many homophones. (an excessive extent) She bought too much food. (more than should be) He was not too pleased with the results. (ver...

/ˈhəʊməfəʊn/ Other forms: homophones A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and/or spelling. “Flower” and “flour” are homophones because they are pronounced the same but you certainly can’t bake a cake using daffodils. Other common homophones are write and right, meet and meat, peace and piece. You have to listen to the context to know which word someone means if they’re spoken aloud. If they say they like your jeans (genes?), they’re probably talking about your pants and not your height and eye color — but you’d have to figure it out from the situation!

Homophones In your own language you know many words that sound the same but do not mean the same. They are homophones (= "same sound"). In English, too, there are many homophones, and it's important to try to learn and understand them. We use homophones all the time, even in everyday speech. They are also a common source of humour in jokes, and frequently occur in riddles. These pages explain homophones and give examples with audio, and also list many homophones by level and by type. Homophones Song Homophone Lists by level Homophone Lists by type

What Is a Homophone? A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but is usually spelled differently and has a different meaning. Homophones may consist of two or more words, although pairs are more common than three or more words that sound the same. Examples of homophones that have three words are to, too, and two, and their, there, and they're. The English language is, honestly, a bit of a mess, and homophones are extra tricky. Today, we're learning what homophones are, how to use them correctly, and where you can find homophones hiding in English. What Is the Difference between Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs? Do homophones always have different spellings? Well, it depends on who you ask. Let's look at some other types of tricky words. There are homophones, homographs, and homonyms. That's enough to make anyone's head spin! How do you tell the difference? We can start by looking at the etymology of the words. The prefix homo- means "same." The root phone comes from the Greek word phonos, which means "sound." That means a homophone has the same sound. You can remember this by thinking of a phone, which we hear sounds through. An example of a homophone pair is fare and fair. They sound alike but have different meanings. They are also spelled differently. The root graph derives from the Greek graphein , which means "to write." Same + write tells us that homographs are words that are written the same. They have the same spelling but different meanings an...