Homophones are two or more words that sound the same but have different spellings. English homophones are a fantastic way to learn English because if you know the pronunciation of one of the words, you know how to pronounce the other as well! Enjoy learning these 20 homophones and be sure to practice them below!
1. Suite – a set of connected rooms
“We are staying in the deluxe suite at our hotel!”
Sweet – sugary in taste
“Do you like sweet or salty food better?”
2. Heel – back of the foot beneath the ankle; when a dog follows behind its owner
“I think I bruised my heel when I stepped on that rock.”
“I am trying to teach my dog the command ‘heel!’”
Heal – to cure, return to health
“I hope my wound heals soon.”
3. Borough – a town or district; New York City is divided into five boroughs
“Which borough are you from? The Bronx or Queens?”
Burrow – to dig a hole or tunnel; (noun) a hole dug by an animal
“The little bunny burrowed down into the leaves because it was cold.”
4. Whether – a connecting word between alternatives
“I’m not sure whether she is coming or not.”
Weather – temperature and other outside conditions
“I hope the weather is nice tomorrow for our picnic.”
5. Caught – past of ‘to catch’
“I caught the ball when Abby threw it to me.”
Cot – a portable bed that can generally fold in on itself (note: caught and cot sound the same only for speakers with the “cot-caught merger,” common in much of the western US and Canada; many other speakers pronounce them differently)
“They don’t have enough beds for us, but they do have some cots we can roll out and use.”
6. Toe – a digit on a foot
“I hurt my toe when I tripped over the chair.”
Tow – to pull something with a chain, rope, or something similar
“They had to tow my car because it was parked illegally.”
7. Which – a word to help decide between two or more alternatives
“Which sandwich do you want?”
Witch – a woman in stories who has magic powers, often shown wearing a black pointy hat and flying on a broom
“Are you going to dress up as a witch or a pirate for Halloween?”
8. Waist – the smallest area above the hips but below the chest
“What size waist do you have? Maybe you could fit into my dress.”
Waste – to throw something away when it could still be used; to use something carelessly
“Don’t waste any of the paper. I will use it.”
9. Write – to use some kind of utensil to make words on a page
“Did you write me a note?”
Right – opposite of left; to be correct
“Do I make a left or right here?”
“What is the right way to go?”
10. Male – a boy or man
“Many medical forms require you to indicate if you are a male or female.”
Mail – packages or letters that are delivered through the postal service
“Did we get any mail today? I am waiting on a bill from the insurance company.”
11. Board – a flat, hard material that is a rectangle and used for various purposes like building
“The teacher put our assignment on the board.”
Bored – to have nothing interesting or fun to do
“I am so bored. I wish I had something fun to do.”
12. Team – a group of people working together for a common purpose, often sports
“What team are you on in basketball?”
Teem – to be full of
“The waters were teeming with fish.”
13. Hair – the threadlike strands on a living being
“I wash my hair every other day.”
Hare – a large animal very similar to a rabbit
“Have you ever heard the story about the tortoise and the hare?”
14. Bare – lacking covering
“He went out in the snow in his bare feet.”
Bear – a large mammal with thick fur that generally lives in the forest
“Did you see any bears on your hike?”
15. Road – a pathway for a vehicle
“It is important to know what side of the road to drive on.”
Rode – past of ‘to ride’
“I rode with Jeremy to Nathan’s party.”
16. Sink – a basin with a water source and a drainage system
“You can put the dishes in the sink.”
Sync – short for synchronize; to transfer data between two things to make sure they both have the
same information
“I need to sync everything from my computer to my external hard drive.”
17. Paws – the feet of certain animals
“Make sure he doesn’t have any splinters in his paws.”
Pause – to delay briefly
“Did you pause the movie?”
18. Pane – a sheet of glass in a door or similar object
“Can you clean the window pane?”
Pain – discomfort
“Are you in a lot of pain today?”
19. Mall – a group of stores in one big building
“I have to go to the mall to buy a gift for her.”
Maul – to wound, especially when an animal wounds a person or another animal
“The hikers were lucky they didn’t get mauled by the bear.”
20. Flower – a bloom on a plant
“Oh! What beautiful flowers! I love tulips!”
Flour – ingredient used to cook and bake with; powdery substance
“Do you need any flour for this recipe?”
Practice using these English homophones in the exercise below:
Homophones Worksheet 1:
1. This cake is so ___________________ [suite/sweet].
2. Is your wound starting to ________________ [heel/heal]?
3. The rabbit made a ________________ [burrow/borough].
4. I’m not sure _____________ [weather/whether] it will be sunny or cloudy.
5. When she threw it, I _________________ [caught/cot] it.
6. Did you break your ______________ [tow/toe]?
7. ______________ [which/witch] movie do you like better?
8. They have to measure your _______________ [waste/waist] to see what size dress you need.
9. Do I need to take a _____________ [write/right] or left turn?
10. Did I get any ______________ [male/mail]?
11. I’m really _______________ [board/bored].
12. What ________________ [team/teem] are you cheering for?
13. Can I braid your ________________ [hair/hare]?
14. The wall was _____________ [bare/bear] so I bought a painting to hang up.
15. Is the _______________ [road/rode] closed?
16. You can put all the dishes in the ________________ [sink/sync].
17. Can you _______________ [paws/pause] the movie?
18. I am having a lot of ____________ [pane/pain] in my back.
19. Want to go to the ______________ [mall/maul] with me?
20. May I borrow some _____________ [flower/flour] to bake my cake?
Answers:
1. sweet 2. heal 3. burrow 4. whether 5. caught 6. toe 7. which 8. waist 9. right 10. mail 11. bored 12. team 13. hair 14. bare 15. road 16. sink 17. pause 18. pain 19. mall 20. flour