What are homophones?
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and usually different spellings. Homo means "same" and phone means "sound".
- pair (two of something) / pear (a fruit)
- sea (ocean) / see (look)
- flour (for baking) / flower (a plant)
- knight (a soldier) / night (when it’s dark)
When you speak, homophones cause no problems. When you write, you must choose the right spelling, because readers can only see the word.
Homophones, homonyms and homographs
These three words are easy to mix up.
| Term | Same sound? | Same spelling? | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homophone | yes | usually no | write / right |
| Homonym | yes | yes | bat (animal) / bat (baseball) |
| Homograph | sometimes no | yes | lead (metal) / lead (to guide) |
You can learn more about homonyms in the Homonyms lesson. This lesson focuses on homophones, the ones that cause spelling mistakes.
The most troublesome homophones
their, there, they’re
- their = belonging to them: their house
- there = a place, or to start a sentence: over there, there is
- they’re = they are: They’re late.
Trick: there has here inside it (both are places). Their has heir inside it (an heir owns things).
your, you’re
- your = belonging to you: your coat
- you’re = you are: You’re kind.
its, it’s
- its = belonging to it: The dog wagged its tail.
- it’s = it is / it has: It’s sunny.
to, too, two
- to = toward, or before a verb: go to school, to run
- too = also, or more than enough: me too, too hot
- two = the number 2
Trick: too has too many o’s.
More pairs to know
| Words | Meanings |
|---|---|
| hear / here | listen / this place |
| whose / who’s | belonging to whom / who is |
| weather / whether | rain and sun / if |
| break / brake | smash, rest / stop a vehicle |
| plain / plane | simple / aircraft |
| piece / peace | a part / calm |
| allowed / aloud | permitted / out loud |
| principal / principle | school leader / rule or belief |
| buy / by / bye | purchase / near / farewell |
How to choose the right one
- Use context. The words around a homophone show which meaning you need.
- Expand contractions. If you are, it is or they are fits, use the apostrophe form.
- Use memory tricks like the ones above.
- Don’t trust spell-checkers. A spell-checker usually sees their and there as correctly spelled words, so it won’t catch the wrong choice. Proofread yourself.
Homophones and wordplay
Homophones power many jokes and riddles.
Why did the cookie go to the doctor? It felt crummy.
What’s black and white and read all over? A newspaper. (read sounds like red)
Understanding homophones helps you get the joke.
Worked examples
Example 1: I can’t (wait / weight) for summer. → wait.
Example 2: (Their / There / They’re) dog is over (their / there / they’re). → Their dog is over there.
Example 3: The (principal / principle) gave a speech. → principal (a person: "the principal is your pal").
Common mistakes
- Your welcome ✗ → You’re welcome ✓
- Loose the game ✗ → Lose the game ✓ (loose and lose are not true homophones but often confused)
- I could of gone ✗ → could have
- Then and than: bigger then me ✗ → bigger than me ✓
Try it yourself
- Choose: I ate (to / too / two) many cookies.
- Choose: (Who’s / Whose) turn is it?
- Write a homophone for each: mail, sale, blue, week.
- Fix: Its to cold to go their today.
Answers: 1. too. 2. Whose. 3. male, sail, blew, weak. 4. It’s too cold to go there today.
Tip for families
Make homophone pairs into a memory game. Write each word on a card with a small drawing (a pear and a pair of socks). Turn them face down and find matching pairs, saying both meanings out loud when you win a match.
Quick recap
- Homophones sound alike but differ in meaning and spelling.
- The most common trouble spots are their/there/they’re, your/you’re, its/it’s and to/too/two.
- Use context and memory tricks to choose.
- Spell-checkers usually won’t catch homophone mistakes.