A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but it differs in
meaning or spelling or both. A few examples are listed below.
ail,
a rather old-fashioned verb meaning to be ill, as in The old woman is ailing; or to be the matter, to be wrong, as
in What ails you?
ale, a noun meaning a kind of
beer, as in a pint of foaming ale.
alter a verb meaning to change, as in They
have had to alter their plans.
altar a
noun meaning, in the Christian church, the table on which the bread and wine are consecrated for communion and
which serves as the centre of worship, as in The priest moved to the altar, from where he dispensed communion.
The word can also refer to a raised structure on which sacrifices are made, as
in The Druids made sacrifices on the altar of their gods.
blew a
verb, the past tense of the verb to blow, as in They blew the trumpets loudly.
blue a
noun and adjective meaning a colour of the shade of a clear sky, as in She wore
a blue dress.
boar a noun meaning a male pig, as in a
dish made with wild boar.
bore a
verb meaning to produce a hole in something with a drill as in He
bored a hole in the wall.
bore a
verb meaning to make tired and uninterested, as in The audience was obviously
bored by the rather academic lecture.
bore a
verb, the past tense of the verb to bear, as in They bore their troubles lightly.
cereal a noun meaning a plant
yielding grain suitable for food, as in Countries which grow cereal crops and Quite a lot of cereal crops are grown in
the UK and a prepared food made with grain, as in We often have cereal for breakfast. serial a noun meaning a story or television play which is published
or appears in regular parts, as in the final instalment of the magazine serial
which she was following.
cite a verb meaning to quote or mention by way of
example or proof, as in The
lawyer cited a previous case to try and get his client off a charge of
manslaughter.
sight a noun meaning the act of
seeing, as in They recognized him at first sight. site a noun meaning a location, place, as in They have found a site for
the new factory.
feat a
noun meaning a notable act or deed, as in
The old man received an award for
his courageous feat.
feet a
noun, the plural form of foot, as in The child got her feet wet
from walking through a puddle.
know a
verb meaning to have understanding or knowledge of, as in He is the only
one who knows the true facts of the situation, and to be acquainted with, as in
I met her once but I don’t really know
her.
no an
adjective meaning not any, as in We have no food left and There is no right
of way through the large estate.
none a
pronoun meaning not any, as in They are demanding money but we have none.
nun a
noun meaning a woman who joins a religious order and takes vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, as in
She gave up the world to become a nun.
rite a
noun meaning a ceremonial act or words, as in She has been taking part in rites
involving witchcraft.
right an
adjective meaning correct, as in Very few people gave the right answer to
the question.
write a
verb meaning to form readable characters, as in He writes regularly for the
newspapers.
stare a verb and noun meaning to
look fixedly and a fixed gaze, as in She stared at him in disbelief when he
told her the news and He gave me an
angry stare. stair a noun meaning a series of flights of steps, as in The
old lady caught her foot on the stair.
