homophone

Everyday

1. A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and often a different spelling, like «there», «their» and «they're». tree →
2. Two or more such words are called homophones of each other. tree →

In the lessons

In English and spelling lessons, homophones cause many spelling mistakes, so pupils learn pairs and groups: to/too/two, hear/here, see/sea, knight/night, write/right, bear/bare, peace/piece, which/witch, flour/flower. The meaning of the sentence tells you which spelling to choose. Homophones are also used in jokes and puns. Phrases: «a pair of homophones», «homophone mistakes», «choose the right homophone».

Examples

• «Sea» and «see» are homophones. tree →
• «Two», «too» and «to» are a group of homophones. tree →
• I wrote «their» instead of «there» — a homophone mistake. tree →
• The joke works because «knight» and «night» are homophones. tree →
• Circle the correct homophone: The (bare/bear) ate the honey. tree →
• Can you think of a homophone for «flour»? tree →
• Spell checkers often miss homophone mistakes. tree →

Note

Do not mix up with «homograph» (same spelling, maybe different sound: a «bow» to tie, to «bow» your head) or «homonym» (a wider word for same-looking or same-sounding words). Homophones can depend on accent: «aunt/aren't» sound the same in much of England but not in the USA. Spell checkers do not catch them because each spelling is a real word.