Homophones in English | Definition - Examples

2. Examples of common homophones in English

1. What are homophones?

Definition: homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings. They can sometimes cause confusion for learners. In this lesson, we will learn common homophones, their meanings, and how to use them correctly in sentences.

2. Examples of common homophones in English

there / their / they’re:
- there: refers to a place. "The book is over there."
- their: shows possession. "Their house is beautiful."
- they’re: a contraction of "they are." "They’re going to the park."
to / too / two:
- to: a preposition or part of an infinitive verb. "I went to the store."
- too: means "also" or "excessively." "I want to go too."
- two: the number 2. "I have two apples."
pair / pear:
- pair: refers to two things. "I bought a pair of shoes."
- pear: a type of fruit. "She ate a juicy pear."
flour / flower:
- flour: a powder used in baking. "We need flour to make bread."
- flower: a plant’s bloom. "The garden is full of beautiful flowers."
sea / see:
- sea: a large body of water. "The sea is calm today."
- see: to perceive with the eyes. "I can see the mountains."

1. air, heir

2. aisle, isle

3. allowed, aloud

4. altar, alter

5. ate, eight

6. bare, bear

7. beach, beech

8. bean, been

9. beat, beet

10. berry, bury

11. blew, blue

12. brake, break

13. buy, by, bye

14. cell, sell

15. cent, scent, sent

16. cereal, serial

17. chews, choose

18. coarse, course

19. complement, compliment

20. creak, creek

21. dear, deer

22. desert, dessert

23. dew, due

24. die, dye

25. discreet, discrete

26. doe, dough

27. done, dun

28. earn, urn

29. eye, I

30. fair, fare

31. feat, feet

32. find, fined

33. fir, fur

34. flour, flower

35. for, four, fore

36. gait, gate

37. gene, jean

38. gorilla, guerrilla

39. grate, great

40. groan, grown

41. hair, hare

42. hall, haul

43. heal, heel

44. hear, here

45. heard, herd

46. hole, whole

47. hour, our

48. idle, idol

49. in, inn

50. its, it's

51. knead, need

52. knew, new

53. knight, night

54. knot, not

55. know, no

56. lain, lane

57. leak, leek

58. lessen, lesson

59. loan, lone

60. made, maid

61. mail, male

62. main, mane

63. meat, meet

64. medal, meddle

65. missed, mist

66. morning, mourning

67. none, nun

68. oar, or, ore

69. one, won

70. pail, pale

71. pair, pear, pare

72. passed, past

73. peace, piece

74. plain, plane

75. pore, pour

76. pray, prey

77. queue, cue

78. rain, reign, rein

79. raise, rays, raze

80. read, reed

81. right, write, rite

82. road, rode

83. role, roll

84. root, route

85. sail, sale

86. scene, seen

87. sea, see

88. seam, seem

89. sew, so, sow

90. sight, site, cite

91. sole, soul

92. some, sum

93. son, sun

94. stair, stare

95. stake, steak

96. stationary, stationery

97. steal, steel

98. suite, sweet

99. tail, tale

100. their, there, they're

101. threw, through

102. to, too, two

103. toe, tow

104. waist, waste

105. wait, weight

106. war, wore

107. warn, worn

108. way, weigh

109. weak, week

110. weather, whether

111. which, witch

112. wood, would

113. your, you're

3. Incorrect use of homophones

Homophones are important because they highlight the nuances of the English language. Misusing homophones can lead to confusion or misunderstandings, especially in written communication. For example:

Incorrect: "Their going to the park."

Correct: "They’re going to the park."

4. Homophones quiz

This interactive quiz will help you practice English homophones. You’ll answer 45 questions in total, divided into sets of 5 questions at a time. After completing all 45 questions, you’ll see your final score and detailed feedback on which answers were correct or incorrect. Good luck!

Time: 00:00

Choose the correct homophone to complete each sentence.