What Are Homophones – Definition And 30 Examples of Homophones

Would you like to know about Homophone and its common examples? We will tell you all about it in this article.

Homophones are one of the most common mistakes many make in English when writing. Although these mistakes are not intentional, they end up conveying a different meaning to the intended sentence. And this is why you need to gain mastery of how Homophones work.

Homophones are words that have similar sounds but are spelt differently and mean different things. Most time, people get confused or mix similar words up.

Homophones, in most cases are misplaced and confused with another because they sound alike and might even look. However, this confusion in spelling, writing and use of English words can be corrected if we have knowledge about homophones and how they work.

This is one of the areas where students make lots of errors when writing because they write a word in place of another. This can be fixed once you know how to place words that fit. That is why you need to know some of the common examples of homophones to know how to go about it

Examples of Homophones

Here are several examples of homophones outlined for you.

1. Brake/Break: Brake- A device that makes a moving vehicle slow down. Break- to forcefully separate something into two or more pieces.
2. Bye/buy: Bye- Buy- to make purchases
3. Hear/Here: Hear- to be conscious of or receive a sound in your ear. Here- at, to or in this place
4. Whole/hole: Whole- complete, not separated or divided. Hole- an empty space on an object that may go completely through the object
5. Peace/piece: Peace- absence of war, fight, disagreement or quarrel. Piece- a part of an object or something
6. Stair/Stare: stair- a set of steps in a building that leads from one level to another in the building. Stare- to look at something for a long time with your eyes wide open, especially when you are surprised or shocked
7. Knight/night: Knight- a man given a rank of honour by a British king or Queen for his great achievement. Night- a part of the day where it is dark because there is little light from the sun
8. Know/no: Know- be aware of. No- objecting or disagreeing with someone or an idea
9. Raise/rays/raze: Raise- to lift something to a higher position. Rays- A narrow beam of light travelling in a straight line from its source. Raze- To completely destroy something, a building or even a city
10. Coarse/course: Coarse– not smooth or soft, rough. Course- a set of classes or a plan of study in a subject leading to an exam.
11. Complement/compliment: Complement- to make something or somebody seem more attractive. Compliment- to approve of or express admiration of something
12. To/Too/Two: To- used before a verb to show that it is infinitive. Too- more than needed or more than enough. Two- number 2
13. You’re/your: You’re- you are. Your- belonging to the person or group of people spoken of or to
14. Alter/Altar: Alter- to change something. Altar- an elevated area with a flat top usually shaped like a table that is used in most religious ceremonies
15. Time/thyme: Time- A part of existence that is measured in minutes, hours, days and years. Thyme- A herb used in cooking.
16. Waist/ Waste: Waist- a part of the body above and slightly narrower than the hips. Waste- an unnecessary or wrong use of a belonging, substance, time, energy, etc.
17. Incite/Insight: Incite- to encourage someone to do something or feel something unpleasant or violent. Insight- to have a clear deep understanding of something complicated
18. Peek/peak/pique: Peek- to look for a short time, especially while trying to avoid being seen. Peak- the highest, strongest or best point/level of something, a situation or a skill. Pique- to excite or cause interest in.
19. Reel/real: Reel- A short video posted on a social media website and it can also mean a fast Scottish or Irish dance or the music for it. Real- Existing in fact, not imaginary
20. Roll/role: Roll- to cause something to move by turning over and over from side to side. Role- a part or position that someone or something has in an organization, society or activity.
21. Rein/reign/rain: Rein- a long, thin piece of material such as leather that is used to control a horse. Reign- to be the king or queen of a country, and it can also mean the period in which a king or queen rules over a particular country. Rain – drops of water from the cloud/sky.
22. Soul/sole: Soul- the part of a person that people believe continues to exist even after death. Sole- being one only, single.
23. Where/wear: Where- to, at or in what place. Wear- to have clothing on your body.
24. Tale/tail: Tale- a story, especially one that is difficult to believe. Tail- a part of an animal’s body sticking out from the base of the back
25. Site/cite/sight: Site- a place where something is, was, or will be built on or a place where something happened or will happen in. Cite- to mention something and show it as proof of a theory or reason why something happened. Sight- ability to see.
26. Canon/cannon: Canon- a Christian priest with special duties in a cathedral. Cannon- a large powerful gun usually attached to two or four wheels that were used in the past to fire heavy stones or metal balls.
27. Bare/Bear: Bare- not covered or without any clothing. Bear- To accept, tolerate or endure something, especially if it is unpleasant.
28. Ate/eight: Ate- past simple of Eat. Eight- The number 8.
29. Steal/steel: Steal- to take something without the permission of the owner and keep it. Steel- A strong metal that is a mixture of iron and carbon that is used in making things that need a strong structure, especially vehicles and buildings.
30. Blew/blue: Blew- past simple of blow. Blue- the colour of the sky without clouds on a bright day, it may be darker or lighter.

Conclusion

Being knowledgeable in the use of homophones is of great importance to students because it can help them avoid the little but costly mistakes that are mostly made during writing and in their use.

Also, not minding the fact they sound similar, one can differentiate them mostly based on the context of their use or application. this can also help you when writing.

With the 30 examples of homophones and their meaning, you can do more in your sentence composition and in your writing.

Having been through this article, we hope this article was helpful and educative. Till Next Time.