Note: correctly, a pair of homonyms are two words pronounced and spelled identically but differ in meaning, a pair of homophones are pronounced identically but differ in meaning and a pair of homographs are spelled identically but differ in meaning. This is a list of commonly confused homonyms, homophones and homographs
English Some words are not fully homophonous, and other are homophones only in certain dialects.
*accept: tolerate except: everything but
*add: put together with ad: short for "advertisement"
*allowed: permitted aloud: audibly
*allot: to distribute, allocate a lot: much; many (a lot of)
*allusion: indirect reference elusion: evasion elution: separation by washing illusion: a distortion of sensory perception
*bare: as a verb, to expose, to remove cover; as a noun, naked, exposed; very little (bare necessities) bear: as a noun, a large mammal (e.g. American Black Bear); as a verb, to carry something ("to bear arms"), to endure ("I can't bear it"), or to give birth to (bear fruit)
*boy: a male adolescent or child; an exclamation "oh boy" buoy: (noun) a floating marker in the sea; (verb, often "buoy up") to keep afloat, to sustain or encourage (the soldiers were buoyed up by letters from home) (pronounced boy in the UK, but in the US is either homophonous with "boy" or pronounced with two syllables to rhyme with "chewy") bhoy: a house servant for families in India (borrowed from the English word "boy")
*bow: (rhymes with 'cow'): The front section of a ship or boat; a gesture made by bending forward at the waist bough: (rhymes with 'cow') A tree branch, especially a large or main branch. bow: (rhymes with 'go'): A weapon made of a curved stick whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows; a type of knot with two loops
*brake the practise of stopping, halting or slowing down. break a short rest or the method of snapping, splitting or damaging something through the use of force.
*bridal: pertaining to a bride (bridal gown, bridal suite) bridle: (noun) part of a horse's tack around its neck and head; (verb) to appear offended or proud
*capital: punishable by death (capital crime); upper-case letter; the principal town or city (Paris is the capital of France); wealth, money (capital gains tax), as an exclamation: "excellent" Capitol: the home of the Congress of the United States and some other legislatures
*carry: to move while supporting Carrie: a woman's name, pet form of Caroline, French feminine form of Carolus, Charles, from the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word which meant "man". Also, name of first published Stephen King novel. Kerry: a surname, from the name of the Irish county County Kerry, which means "Ciar's people" in Irish.
*caught: past tense of "catch" cot: a small, collapsible bed. Predominantly in North America, see .
*choir: a choral singing group quire: sometimes a variant spelling of "choir", but more commonly a term for a quantity of sheets of paper, or a part of a church housing the altar and, frequently, the choir stalls
*chord: group of musical notes; anything that can be "struck" (It struck a sensitive chord) cord: rope; long electrical line; vertebral column cored: having the inside cut out, like an apple cawed: past tense of "to caw" - to make a raucous noise
*choux (pronounced as shoe): plural of chou, as used in choux pastry shoe: footwear shoo: exclamation used for scaring things away
*content: noun. something contained in a package content: noun. or adj. satisfied, happy
*compliment: a praising or flattering remark given to someone; to give such a remark complement: something that completes something else; to complete (something)
*complimentary: Praising or flattering; or given for free (e.g. complimentary tickets). complementary: Of things that together complete a whole.
*cue: a rod or stick used to play the game billiards or pool queue: a line of people waiting
*descent: a downwards path dissent: disagreement
*discreet: means tactful or diplomatic discrete: means separate or distinct
*do: conduct or carry out something do (to rhyme with doe) / doh: the first note of the solfege scale doe: a female deer; also female of various other species (by extension) : an annoyed grunt dough: a moistened mass of flour used to make bread; slang term for money
*effect: ramification: cause and effect; sound effect (as a noun); bring about (effect change) (as a verb) affect: have an effect on; pretentiously display (affect a British accent); emotion (in psychology and psychiatry).
*elicit: to call forth, draw out, or provoke (a reaction, for example) illicit: not sanctioned by custom or law; unlawful
*ensure: to make certain, to guarantee insure: to purchase financial protection, as in an insurance policy. assure: to assuage the concern of another person.
*fa / fah: the fourth note of the solfege scale far: distant (In non-rhotic dialects, these are homonyms.)
*fairy: imaginary small person with special powers (often homophonous with "ferry" in the US) ferry: boat for carrying people or vehicles short distances on water
*faze: to temporarily stop or shock (It didn't even faze them) phase: a stage through which one goes
*flaw: defect (homonymous with floor in non-rhotic dialects) floor: a level; lower surface of a room; the area of a legilsative building members speak from, so "to take/hold the floor"; to knock to the ground; to confound someone flor: a yeasty growth that forms on sherry after fermentation.
*formerly: in the past formally: in a formal way (These are not homonyms to most speakers of English, but are homonyms in some non-rhotic dialects, including "Received Pronunciation".)
*gnaw: to bite or chew on persistently nor: negates the last member of a series of negated items
*gorilla: the largest of the great apes. guerrilla: a small combat group.
*hair: an outgrowth of the epidermis in mammals (e.g. human facial hair); similar structures on plants hare: (noun) a swift, long-eared mammal which, along with rabbits, forms the family Leporidae; (verb) to dash or sprint ("I hared around the kitchen") Herr: the title meaning "Mr." for a man from Germany or Austria
*hay: grass cut and dried for animal feed hay: the choke of an artichoke hey: an exclamation used to draw attention, "Hey! Over here!"; a greeting hey or hay: a weaving figure in English country dance, morris dance and contra dance heigh: in the phrase "heigh-ho" expressing weariness or disappointment
*heir: one who inherits air: the mixture of gases present in a planet's atmosphere
*here: this place (opposed to there) hear: sense with the ears; also in the phrase "Hear! Hear!" for strong agreement
*high: opposite of low; elevated, far above the ground; under the influence of drugs hi: a greeting; shortened from "high" as part of hi-fi or el-hi hie: to speed or hurry somewhere, "hie thee to France" hi or heigh: part of the phrase "hi-ho" in the song "Hi Ho Silver Lining", or "heigh-ho" in the movie lyric "heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work we go" jai: as in jai alai
*hoard: to accumulate and store up as much of something as one can horde: large group of warriors, mob hoared: old, mouldy, fusty whored: past tense of "to whore" - to act as a prostitute hawed: past tense of haw - equivocate
*imminent: soon to occur immanent: existing only in the mind, or acting in the material world (Some speakers (perhaps 10%) of USA-English also pronounce eminent like these two.)
*its: belonging to it (analogous to my, your, his, her, our, their) it's: contraction for "it is" (analogous to I'm, you're, he's, she's, we're, they're) or "it has" (analogous to I've, you've, he's, she's, we've, they've)
*key: instrument used to open locks; a guide to symbols, especially on maps; the essential element "the key to his success"; a range of musical notes "try it in a lower key"; a button or lever on piano or computer keyboards key: a low island or sandbank, the Florida Keys quay: pronounced as key in the UK, as key, kay or kway in the US; a wharf, a structure built out into water for the ease of loading and unloading vessels cay: a West Indian word for an island, as in the novel The Cay ki: another name for the Hawaiian plant ti
*lam: US slang: "on the lam" means "on the run" lamb: a young sheep
*lama: priest (for example the Dalai Lama) llama: camelid mammal
*law: legal rule lore: old story often not written down la: the sixth note of the solfege scale
*lead: pronounced to rhyme with "seed", to guide or serve as the head of lead: pronounced to rhyme with "head", a heavy metal led: the past tense of "lead" leed: a copper kettle; a cauldron
*leek: a vegetable of the onion family which is the national emblem of Wales leak: a hole which allows a gas or liquid to escape; confidential information sent to journalists to expose some issue (the leak came from within the White House itself); slang for urination Leek: places in England and the Netherlands
*lock: a mechanical device for securing doors or canals; also the act of using such a device (verb); a tuft of human hair Lok: alternative name for Loki, the Norse god of mischief Locke: the surname of early liberal philosopher John Locke
*mail: items sent through the postal service; armor male: opposite of female
*mantle: one of the layers of the Earth; a cloak (by metaphorical extension, special position or role held) mantel: over the fireplace
*marry: to wed merry: happy Mary: a woman's name, from Maria, probably a variation of the Hebrew name Miriam, meaning "sea of bitterness"
*medal: an award to be strung around the neck meddle: stick one's nose into others' affairs metal: shiny, malleable element or alloy like silver, gold, iron, zinc, tin, copper, bronze or brass mettle: toughness, guts Note that the first two of these are only homonyms of the second two in North American English.
*me: personal pronoun me: a concept in Sumerian mythology me / mi: the third note of the solfege scale
*morning: the time between midnight and midday mourning: period of grieving after the death of a relative, friend or public figure, clothing worn at this time (e.g. mourning dove)
*muscle: one of the parts of the body used to move mussel: a bivalve popular as seafood
*past: time before now (past, present and future); beyond; after the hour (three past nine = 9:03); former (in her past life) passed: past tense of "to pass"
*pasture: a field where animals graze; pastor: a minister of a Christian church. pasta: a type of food made from the flour of certain grains mixed with water and/or eggs. *parse: to break down into component parts (e.g. for analysis) pars: the acts of scoring a par in golf; also plural of "par" parrs: plural of "parr" - a young salmonid fish
*piece: portion peace: opposite of war; quietness (peace of mind) or silence (speak now or forever keep your peace)
*pi: the ratio of the diameter and circumference of a circle (also the 16th letter in the Greek alphabet) pie: a baked food having a filling of fruit, meat, pudding, etc., prepared in a pastry-lined pan or dish and often topped with a pastry crust
*peak: tip, height, to reach its highest point, a mountain peke: a breed of dog peek: to take a brief look, usually through a thin aperture (sneak peek) pique: fit of anger; to incite (pique one's interest)
*paw: a mammal's foot(who the heck pronounces paw like poor?) poor: impoverished; also, to be pitied (Poor Peter!), also bad (poor quality) pore: a hole in the skin; to go over with great focus (pore over) pour: to run out (said of liquid); to rain heavily par: common level; equality
*principal: can be a noun or an adjective, a person of primary importance principle: a noun: it cannot be an adjective, a fundamental rule or law
*rack: a long, open container with a rectangular frame (spice rack); one's upper body; to torture (verb) or an instrument of torture (noun) wrack: to destroy, a shipwreck, commonly found in the phrase "to go to wrack and ruin" Note: In British English, only the first spelling should be used in the phrase "to rack one's brains"; in American English the second spelling is also acceptable in this context; the meaning of "rack" in this phrase is related to the rack as an instrument of torture
*rain: water falling from the sky reign: to rule; hold the position as monarch rein: the strip used to control a horse; anything that restrains; to restrain anything by pulling in its irrational exuberance (pull the reins in on) Rayne: a city in Louisiana
*raise: to increase raze: to destroy, to obliterate: "the town was razed to the ground by the fire" rays: beams of light or energy (sun's rays, X-rays, gamma rays, etc.); cartilaginous fishes Reyes: as in Point Reyes
*ray: a beam of light ray: a type of fish ray / re: the second note of the solfege scale Re / Ra(h): an Egyptian god. rah: a short form of "hurrah"
*reek: to stink wreak: to bring about (wreak havoc) reak: a rush (plant), or a prank
*rest: sit down without doing anything active; the remainder wrest: to struggle to extricate something (wrest it out of his hands)
*retch: to vomit wretch: a person in a miserable condition; a person of bad character
*right: the direction opposite to left; correct; something a person must have his/her choice to do respected (the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness); straight or directly (went right to his heart) write: to put down in letters; send a letter to (Write me soon!) rite: ritual, ceremony (rites of passage) wright: connected with other words to mean someone who constructs (playwright, scenewright, wheelwright)
*ring: piece of jewelry; make a sound like a bell or telephone, or tinnitus in the ears; anything shaped like a circle or torus (like the rings in a bathtub); sound familiarly like (that rings of fascism) wring: strangle (wring his neck), squeeze and twist (wring the water out of laundry)
*root: part of a plant, usually beneath the ground route: path of travel, Standard English pronunciation
*rout: chaotic or disorderly retreat route: path of travel, American English pronunciation
*row (rhymes with "go"): to pull a boat through the water with oars row (rhymes with "cow"): a fuss or a fight roe: fish eggs (such as caviar); a deer (the roebuck) Roe: pseudonym used in court cases for women having or seeking abortions (most famously in Roe v. Wade) rho: letter of the Greek alphabet equivalent to R Ro: a constructed language based on categorization
*seem: appear to seam: a join; a line of stitches that holds two pieces together
*shear: trim, remove; strain sheer: absolute, very steep; swerve
*sight: vision site: place, grounds; place in cyberspace cite: quote or make a reference to; write a ticket
*so: likewise; therefore; to such a degree so or soh: the fifth note of the solfege scale sow (pronounced as so): to scatter seeds sew (pronounced as so): join together or stitch sew (pronounced as sue): to drain (as the root of sewage) Sioux (pronounced as sue): Native American tribe sou (pronounced as sue): a French five-centime coin; any small amount of money sous (pronounced as sue): French for "under", often used as a prefix such as in sous-chef - a sub-chef sue: to prosecute or petition for xu (pronounced as sue): a Vietnamese monetary unit, 1/100 of a dong sow (to rhyme with cow): a female pig
*some: a few sum: what you get when you add numbers; short for summarize (sum up)
*soul: spirit; mellow African-American music style sole: single and only; the surface of the bottom of the foot; flat fish like flounder, petrale or halibut Seoul: the capital of South Korea Sol: the solar system we live in
*stake a wooden implement used in woodcraft or the in popular culture, the abolition of a vampire. steak a large chunk of meat commonly eaten across Britain.
*stationery: office supplies stationary: as not mobile
*tail: appendage of most mammals tale: a story
*tea: a tree and the drink produced from its leaves tee: a support for the ball in golf ti / te: the seventh note of the solfege scale ti: a Polynesian tree similar to the taro see also the disambiguation page TI
*tear (rhymes with fear): a drop of fluid which falls from the eyes when weeping or crying tear (rhymes with fare): rip; to run extremely fast, jolt, bolt, dart tare: dry measure of grains; payment in wheat; adjustment to a weighing device tier: layer or level
*their: belonging to them there: that place (opposed to here); denotes existence of something they're: contraction for "they are"
*theirs: belonging to them there's: contraction for "there is" or "there has"
*therefore: thus, ergo (I think therefore I am) therefor: for the aforementioned thing or purpose; for that (similar to thereof, thereby, therefrom, thereagainst, etc.)
*to: towards or headed for; in order to; used before the infinitive of verbs too: also; excessively two: the number 2 tui: the parson bird tout: French word meaning "all", as in mange-tout
*vary: make a change in; undergo change very: adverbial intensifier
*waste: to use up for something pointless; sewage (toxic waste) waist: the line that goes across the middle of your body
*weather: the meteorological conditions; to survive some wear and tear whether: if something is so or not wether: a male sheep (The bellwether was the ram who led the herd, and carried a bell around his neck to signal the front of the herd coming.)
*wet: to dampen; damp whet: to sharpen (a knife, one's appetite)
*which: similar to 'what', as in "which one?" witch: one who practices witchcraft; green lady dressed in black who rides a broomstick
*while: during a period of time wile: deceitful cunning
*whore: a prostitute horror: intense fear(come on horror has 2 syllables) hoar: white with age
*whose: belonging to whom who's: contraction for "who is" or "who has" hoos: plural of hoo, a small hill or promontory (as in Sutton Hoo)
*yolk: the yellow part of an egg yoke: wooden fastener on working animals such as oxen or horses
*your: belonging to you (analogous to my, his, her, its, our, their) you're: contraction for "you are" (analogous to I'm, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're) yore: time long ago, a bygone age ("the days of yore") yaw: swerve (usually of a ship or a spacecraft)
Finnish
*anna: give! Anna: a feminine name *hanki: snowdirt hanki: get! *hauista : from searches hauista: muscle (partitive case) hauista: from pikes *huopaa: felt, blanket huopaa: back the oars! *kadun: I regret kadun: of a street *kuusi: six kuusi: fir-tree kuusi: your moon *laita: edge laita: arrange!, put! *lakka: varnish lakka: cloudberry lakka: pigeon house *norja: willowy Norja: Norway *palaa: burn palaa: (he) comes back *pala: piece pala: burn! *panna: put panna: excommunication panna: slang word which roughly translates to "to fuck" in English *pitää: hold pitää: like pitää: need to *puola: bobbin, coil puola: the Polish language Puola: Poland *satu: fairy tale satu: hurt! Satu: a girl's name *suo: swamp suo: (he) grants suo: grant! *turkki: fur, fur coat Turkki: Turkey *vaara: danger vaara: hill *voi: butter voi: (he) can, (he) is able to voi: oh *vuori: mountain vuori: lining
Nuances are easily formed with such words:
*Haetaan lakkaa satamasta, kun lakkaa satamasta. (Let's get varnish from the harbour when it stops raining.) *Voi äiti, joulukuusi palaa! (Oh mother, the Christmas tree is on fire / your December returns) (Usually told in Swedish: "Oj mamma, julsexen kommer tillbaka!", with the word "fir" in the finnish word for "christmas tree" replaced intentionally by the swedish word for "six")
