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Homophones, Homonyms
and Heterophones
Definitions:
Homophones: Two (or more) words that sound the same, but
have different spellings
Homonyms: Two (or more) words that are spelled the same
& sound the same, but have different meanings.
Heterophones: Two (or more) words with the same
spelling, but different sounds and different meanings.
Disclaimer: some
of the homophones below only exist in American English, as American English has
fewer sounds than other Englishes.
Examples:
|
Homophones |
| ad (advertisement) |
add |
|
|
| ate |
eight |
8 |
|
| base |
bass |
|
|
| be |
bee |
B |
|
| ball |
bawl |
|
|
| bean |
been (British pronunciation) |
|
|
| bear |
bare |
|
|
| beat |
beet |
|
|
| bite |
byte |
|
|
| blew |
blue |
|
|
| boar |
bore |
|
|
| bot |
bought |
|
|
| bow /bau/ |
bough |
|
|
| brain |
brane |
|
|
| brake |
break |
|
|
| bred |
bread |
|
|
| by |
bye |
buy |
bi~ |
carat
(measurement of weight of gemstones) |
carrot
(an edible root) |
karat
(measurement of purity of gold) |
|
| 'cause (because) |
cous (cousin) |
cuz |
|
| chew |
Choo, Choo! |
|
|
| clause |
claws |
Claus |
|
| coal |
Cole (name) |
|
|
| cot |
caught |
|
|
| Cyn (name) |
sin |
|
|
| dear |
deer |
|
|
| die |
dye |
|
|
| do |
dew |
doo (doo doo) |
|
| do (musical note) |
doe |
dough |
|
| done |
Dunn (name) |
|
|
| drew |
Drue (name) |
|
|
| dug |
Doug (name) |
|
|
| eight |
ate |
8 |
|
| eye |
I |
aye |
|
| fair |
fare |
|
|
| feat |
feet |
|
|
| fin |
Finn |
|
|
| finish |
Finnish |
|
|
| flea |
flee |
|
|
| flew |
flu |
|
|
| for |
four |
fore |
4 |
| forest |
Forrest (name) |
|
|
| gate |
gait |
|
|
| Gee! |
G |
|
|
| genes |
jeans |
|
|
| gnat |
Nat (name; short for Nathan) |
|
|
| gneiss |
nice |
|
|
| grate |
great |
|
|
| grease |
Greece |
|
|
| hair |
hare |
|
|
| hay |
hey |
|
|
| heal |
heel |
|
|
| hear |
here |
|
|
| hi |
high |
|
|
| hoe |
Ho! Ho! Ho! |
There's another "ho" but I'm not going to
mention that one. |
|
| hole |
whole |
|
|
| holy |
wholly |
|
|
| hue |
Hugh |
hew |
|
| knew |
new |
gnu |
|
| knight |
night |
|
|
| knot |
not |
|
|
| know |
no |
|
|
| lad |
LADD |
|
|
| lie |
lye |
|
|
| loo |
lieu |
Lou |
Lu |
| mad |
MADD |
|
|
| made |
maid |
|
|
| main |
mane |
|
|
| me |
mi (musical note) |
|
|
| meat |
meet |
mete |
|
mic~
(microphone) |
Mike |
|
|
| might |
mite |
|
|
| moor |
more |
|
|
| moat |
mote |
|
|
| morning |
mourning |
|
|
| nay |
neigh |
|
|
| none |
nun |
|
|
| pain |
pane |
Payne (name) |
|
| pair |
pear |
pare |
|
| pall |
Paul (name) |
|
|
| patience |
patients |
|
|
| pea |
pee |
|
|
| peace |
piece |
|
|
| peat |
Pete (name) |
|
|
| pew |
Peeyoo! |
Peeyew! |
|
| pie |
pi ( π
) |
|
|
| plain |
plane |
|
|
| pole |
poll |
|
|
| poor |
pore |
pour |
|
| pray |
prey |
|
|
| queue |
cue |
Q |
|
| rain |
reign |
rein |
|
| ray |
re (musical note) |
|
|
| red |
read (past tense) |
|
|
| read (present tense) |
reed |
|
|
| real |
reel |
|
|
| reek |
wreak |
|
|
| right |
rite |
write |
Wright (name) |
| role |
roll |
|
|
| rot |
wrought |
|
|
| sad |
SADD |
|
|
| see |
sea |
C |
|
| seen |
scene |
|
|
| sew |
sow |
|
|
| shoe |
shoo |
|
|
| sign |
sine |
|
|
| sight |
site |
|
|
| slay |
sleigh |
|
|
| sole |
soul |
|
|
| some |
sum |
|
|
| son |
sun |
|
|
| sore |
soar |
|
|
| stair |
stare |
|
|
| stake |
steak |
|
|
| steal |
steel |
|
|
| talk |
tock (tick tock) |
|
|
| tare |
tear |
|
|
| tea |
tee |
T |
ti (musical note) |
| tear |
tare |
|
|
| there |
their |
they're |
|
| to |
too |
two |
Tue |
| toe |
tow |
|
|
| ~toon (cartoon) |
tune |
|
|
| wait |
weight |
Waite (name) |
|
| walk |
wok |
|
|
| war |
wore |
|
|
| waste |
waist |
|
|
| we |
wii |
wee |
|
| we'll |
wheel |
|
|
| wear |
where |
ware |
|
| weather |
whether |
|
|
| which |
witch |
|
|
| who |
Hoo! Hoo! |
|
|
| why |
Y |
|
|
| Woe |
Whoa |
|
|
| won |
one |
|
|
| wrote |
rote |
|
|
| yoke |
yolk |
|
|
| you |
ewe |
yew |
|
|
Homonyms |
| Word |
Meaning 1 |
Meaning 2 |
Meaning 3 |
| bark |
(n.) the outer covering of a tree |
(v.) to make a dog sound |
|
| bear |
(n.) animal |
(v.) to carry |
(v.) to endure |
| bore |
(v.) to make sb bored |
(v.) to make a hole |
(v.) past tense of bear |
| bow /bou/ |
(n.) weapon used with arrows |
(n.) ornament made with ribbon |
|
| bow /bau/ |
(n.) forward part of a boat |
(v.) to bend at the waist |
|
| date |
(n.) day, month, year |
(n., v.) to go out with someone
romantically |
(n.) a kind of fruit |
| fine |
(adj.) well |
(n., v.) a fee for violating the law |
(adj.) thin |
| fly |
(n.) an insect |
(v.) to soar in the air (in the sky) |
(a.) when a baseball is hit high in the air, it is called
a "fly ball" |
| lead /led/ |
(n.) a heavy, soft metal |
(n.) graphite in pencils |
|
| light |
(n.) form of energy |
(n.) lamp |
(a.) not heavy |
| mean |
(adj.) of low status |
(n.) average |
(adj.) unkind |
| park |
(n.) recreational place |
(v.) to stop a vehicle |
|
| Pat |
Proper name
(short for Patricia)
(short for Patrick) |
(v.) to lightly hit someone with palm of
hand, usually for sign of approval |
|
| Ray |
Proper name (short for Raymond) |
(n.) a line of light |
|
| right |
(n.) permission |
(a.) correct |
(a.) opposite of left |
| rock |
(n.) a stone |
(v.) to move back and forth as if to
swing while still touching the ground |
(slang) a kind of music |
| row |
(n.) a line of items |
(v.) to propel a boat with paddles |
|
| sty |
(n.) a pen for pigs |
(n.) an infection on the eye |
|
| Sue |
Proper noun (short for Susan) |
(v.) to take sb to court for money |
|
| tie |
(n). necktie |
(v. & n.) to finish a race at the same time or
with the same score is called a tie. |
(v.) to make a knot |
|
Heterophones |
| Word
/diction/ |
Meaning |
Word
/diction/ |
Meaning |
bass /b s/ |
a kind of fish |
bass /b s/ |
lower vibrational tones |
| lead /leed/ or /li:d/ |
to show the way |
lead /led/ |
a heavy, soft metal |
| Polish /poh-lish/ |
person from Poland |
polish /pah-lish/ |
shine |
| read /reed/ or /ri:d/ |
to look at written language |
read /red/ |
past tense of read |
| tear /teer/ or /ti:r/ |
a drop of eye fluid |
tear /tehr/ |
rip |
| wind /wind/ |
breeze |
wind /waind/ |
turn |
| |
English |
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Spanish
|
Korean |
Mongolian |
Chinese |
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