Meaning & use
homophone
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and often a different spelling.
Grammar: Countable noun: say 'a homophone' or 'homophones'.
Patterns
- a homophone of something
- homophones in English
- pairs of homophones
'Flower' and 'flour' are homophones because they sound exactly the same.
The teacher gave us a list of common homophones to study for the spelling test.
Writers sometimes confuse homophones like 'their' and 'there'.
Word forms
| plural | homophones |
|---|
Common combinations
- common homophones
- Learners often mix up common homophones such as 'to', 'too', and 'two'.
- a pair of homophones
- 'Sea' and 'see' are a classic pair of homophones.
- homophone confusion
- Homophone confusion can lead to funny mistakes in writing.
- list of homophones
- The textbook includes a list of homophones for practice.
Word family
- homophonic adjective
- Relating to words that sound the same.
- homophony noun
- The state of being pronounced the same, especially in music.
Commonly confused: homophone or homograph? homophone or homonym?
homophone vs homograph
A homograph is spelled the same as another word but may sound different, like 'lead' (metal) and 'lead' (to guide). A homophone sounds the same but may be spelled differently.
homophone vs homonym
A homonym can be either a homophone or a homograph; it is the broader term.
Practice
Which pair are homophones?
Choose one answer.
'Read' (past tense) and 'red' sound the same but are spelled differently, so they are homophones. The other pairs are homographs or homonyms because they share spelling but differ in sound or meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “homophone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.