Looking at homophones
Some words that are pronounced in the same way are spelt
differently and have different meanings. They are called
homophones. Here are some examples:
air gaseous substance heir successor
aisle passage between seats isle land surrounded by
water
allowed permitted aloud audible
altar table at end of church alter change
bare naked bear an animal
bark sound dog makes barque sailing ship
covering of tree trunk
bow to bend head bough branch of tree
bread food made from flour bred past tense of breed
by at side of something buy purchase
bye a run in cricket
awarded by umpire
caught past tense of ‘catch’ court space enclosed by
buildings
cent monetary unit sent past tense of ‘send’
scent perfume
check sudden stop cheque written order to bank
to inspect to pay money
council an administrative body counsel to give advice
current water or air moving in currant dried fruit
a particular direction
ewe female sheep yew a tree
you second person
pronoun
dear loved; expensive deer animal
faint become unconscious feint to make a
diversionary move
herd a group of cattle heard past tense of ‘hear’
here in this place hear to be aware of sound
hole a cavity whole something complete
CHECKING YOUR SPELLING / 59