Homophones

• Homophones are words that sound alike, thanks to that all-important suffix “-phone,” which means sound.

• Homophones have the same sound but different meaning, and they are often spelled differently.

• For example, consider the word “plate” and “plait.” A plate is a dish for eating, but a plait is a special knot or twist, usually indicating something braided, like hair or rope.

• Homophones may or may not be spelled the same, because the definition is really about the sound.

• Other examples:

1. mat/matte
2. two/too

Homographs

• Homographs are words that are spelled the same, as indicated by the suffix “-graph,” which means writing.

• Homographs have the same spelling but different meanings. For example, the words “tear” and “tear.”

• Tear can mean drops of water from the eyes; on the other hand, it can mean to rip paper into pieces.

• Either way, the spelling is the same. Homographs may or may not have different pronunciations, because the definition is about the spelling and not the sound.

• Other examples:

1. bow (to bend at the waste)/bow (an piece of archery equipment)
2. entrance (to hold one’s attention)/entrance (a doorway)

Homonyms

• Homonyms have characteristics of both homophones and homographs.

• As we mentioned, they are words that are spelled alike (like homographs) and sound alike (like homophones).

• Homonyms are a special case, and they are best thought of as the center portion of a Venn diagram that shows the overlap between homophones in one half and homographs in the other.

• Other examples:

1. bear (an animal)/bear (to withstand or hold up)
2. can (a metal container)/can (able to)

Homophone

Pear

My favorite fruit is a pear because it is very juicy and has lots of flavor.

Pair

I had just bought a new pair of shoes at the store and when I wentto school another girl had the same exact shoes.

New

I had just got a new pair of pants at the mall and they already got stained with Clorox.

Knew

I knew that it was somebody’s birthday but forgot who’s it was…..then I remembered tat it was my moms.

Sea

I go out to sea every year with my parents for a cruise on blue majestic waters.

See

I see lots of things outside of school that no one knows about.

Hear

I hear a lot of things when I am home alone with my sister.

Here

“I told you that I was going to be here after school and you forgot about me like always!”, yelled Sussy

Be

My brother told my mom that he would be down the street and got caught in a lie because he was at the park with some friends.

Bee

I like bee’s because they make honey and I like to put honey on my biscuits

Hair

My hair is a dark color in the winter and light during the summer because my hair is weird.

Hare

A hare is always jumping around like a bunny.

Deer

My dad is going to go hunting in the fall and he has already gotten deer and a raccoon.

Dear

I always start y letters off by saying “Dear” because it sounds formal always greeting.

Right

According to mother she is always right even if she wrong and we try to correct her.

Write

I write with my right hand all the time because I am not left handed.

Piece

I asked my dad if he could give me a piece of cake and he forgot to bring it to me.

Peace

My mom believes that there should be peace ion the world because we are all people and just because we look different doesn’t mean we should get treated differently.

Pedal

I stopped riding bikes because I always scratched my ankle with the pedal.

Petal

when I was a little girl I always used to pick the petals off the flowers and throw them all over my room.

Homonym

Here are a few more examples of homonym pairs:

• address (to speak to)/address (location)

• air (oxygen)/air (a lilting tune)

• band (a musical group)/band (a ring)

• bark (a tree’s out layer)/bark (the sound a dog makes)

• current (up to date)/current (flow of water)

• die (to cease living)/die (a cube marked with numbers one through six)

• fair (equitable)/fair (beautiful)

• kind (type)/kind (caring)

• lie (to recline)/lie (to tell a falsehood)

• match (to pair like items)/match (a stick for making a flame)

• mean (average)/mean (not nice)

• Pole (a person from Poland)/pole (a piece of metal that holds a flag)

• pound (unit of weight)/pound (to beat)

• ream (a pile of paper)/ream (to juice a citrus fruit)

• rose (to have gotten up)/rose (a flower)

• spring (a season)/spring (coiled metal)

• tender (gentle)/tender (to pay money)

• tire (to grow fatigued)/tire (part of a wheel)