What is Homophone? Most Important Homophone Words List
Table of Contents
Homophones
In linguistics, homophones are words that are spoken in the same manner and have the same sound. In English, there are a lot of homophones you can come across. They are referred to as homophones when two words have distinct meanings but have the same sound.
In a nutshell, homophones are words that may be used to express more than one meaning. These terms cannot be used interchangeably in a sentence because their meanings are distinct from one another. You should pay close attention to this since the explanation of words is not the same with one another. Yet the words have the same sounds. As a result, even though these words have the same sound patterns, their counterparts and meanings are distinct from one another. Many homophones are used in our everyday lives without us even noticing them. In comparison to other languages, English has a greater number of homophones because its pronunciation has evolved significantly through time, although its writing has changed relatively little.
Different Kinds of Homophones
All homophones are not the same. They may be further subdivided into homographs and heterographs.
When two words have the same spelling but are pronounced differently, they are called homographs. Homographs have various meanings. Homographs include words like “quarter,” as in “It’s quarter past o’clock now,” and “quarter,” as in “I don’t have enough money for the vending machine; I need a quarter.”
Heterographs are words that have various spelling variations and differing meanings but are nevertheless pronounced in the same manner. For example, “fare” and “fair” are an example of heterographs.
Here are some other examples of homophones,
Eye – I
My eye hurts, I think something is in it. (“Eye” is an organ.)
I don’t like to dance a lot. (“I” is a pronoun.)
Hi – High
Hi! How are you since the last time I saw you? (“Hi” is a greeting word.)
The building is very high. (“High” means a long distance from the ground.)
Know – No
I know that song! (“Know” means having information)
No, I don’t have the book with me. (“No” is a negative answer.)
Meet – Meat
John and I meet every day at lunch. (“Meet” means gather together.)
My favorite meat is steak. (“Meat” is a food.)
Witch – Which
This is a fantasy book about a witch’s life. (“Witch” is a supernatural character.)
I don’t like notebooks which have spirals on them. (“Which” means “that”.)
Some – Sum
There are some questions I need to ask you. (“Some” means a few.)
The sum of 3 and 2 is 5. (“Sum” means adding two numbers together.)
Pair – Pear
I need to pair the students to work together. (“Pair” means match.)
I bought pears on the way home. (“Pear” is a fruit.)
Plain – Plane
Our plane did not take off until 5 p.m. (“Plane” is a vehicle)
This is a very plain painting. (“Plain” means simple.)
Cereal – Serial
My favorite thing to eat in the mornings is a cup of cereal. (“Cereal” is a food.)
Serial killers tend to have mental health problems. (“Serial” means repeatedly.)
Common Homophone Words List
abel — able
accede — exceed
accept — except
addition — edition
adds — adz — ads
affect — effect
affected — effected
ale — ail
all ready — already
ayes — eyes
baa — bah
baal — bail — bale
bass — base
baste — based
bate — bait
bated — baited
dense — dents
descent — dissent
dun — done
dye — die
dyeing — dying
fare — fair
fate — fete
faun — fawn
fax — facts
flour — flower
flow — floe
flower — flour
flu — flue — flew
flyer — flier
foaled — fold
fort — forte
graham — gram
graphed — graft
heroin — heroine
hertz — hurts
hew — hue
hey — hay
hi — high
higher — hire
hire — higher
ho — hoe
hoard — horde
hoarse — horse
hoe — ho
hoes — hose
hold — holed
hole — whole
jean — gene
jell — gel
jibe — gibe
kernel — colonel
knap — nap
knave — nave
ladder — latter
lade — laid
lain — lane
lays — laze — leis
lea — lee
leach — leech
lead — led
leak — leek
lean — lien
leased — least
oh — owe
one — won
owe — oh
padded — patted
reed — read
reek — wreak
reel — real
soled — sold
some — sum
