Crews vs. Cruise

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| Grammarist

| Homophones , Usage

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Crews and cruise are two commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way when spoken aloud but are spelled differently and mean different things, which makes them homophones. We will examine the definitions of the two homophonic words crews and cruise , where they came from and some examples of their use in sentences.

Crews is the plural form of the word crew , which means a group of people working together on an airplane or ship, or any group of people who work together closely. Crew is also a verb that means to act as a member of a working crew. The word crew is derived from the Old French word creue, which referred to a group of soldiers. Related words are crew, crewed, crewing.

A cruise is a vacation trip taken on a ship. Cruise is also used as a verb to mean to sail on a ship, to take a vacation on a ship, to walk about in a casual manner, or to look for a casual sexual partner. The word cruise is derived from the Dutch word kruisen which means to sail back and forth. Related words are cruises, cruised, cruising, cruiser.

Examples The proposal had been stalled by the Office of Management and Budget under Obama, and by top Department of Transportation officials, who said there was no evidence that two-member crews made trains safer. ( The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ) Crews will remain busy throughout the evening and into the coming days as they respond to reported fires. ( The Blue Mountain Eagle ) The woman was a passenger aboard the Island Princess cruise ship, which was sailing near Bligh Island in the Prince William Sound at the time of the emergency. ( Newsweek Magazine ) Cruise downtown Duncan with the local community in the summer’s first car cruise starting at 6 p.m. Friday, June 14, 2019, from 12th Street to 7th Street on Walnut Avenue and Main Street. ( The Duncan Banner )

Enjoyed reading about these homophones? Check out some others we covered:

  • Breeches vs Britches
  • Brews vs Bruise
  • Browse vs Brows

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“Crews” or “Cruise”

crews / cruise are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones ). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

crews : ( noun ) the men and women who man a vehicle (ship, aircraft, etc.). ( noun ) the team of men manning a racing shell. ( verb ) serve as a crew member on.

cruise : ( noun ) an ocean trip taken for pleasure. ( verb ) drive around aimlessly but ostentatiously and at leisure. ( verb ) travel at a moderate speed. ( verb ) look for a sexual partner in a public place. ( verb ) sail or travel about for pleasure, relaxation, or sightseeing.

crews : k·r·UW·z

cruise : k·r·UW·z

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Examples in Context

Examples of “crews”.

  • Crews believes that psychoanalysis has no …
  • During the holidays, the crews usually got some fresh meat.
  • … named "HMS Varbel", training the crews of midget submarines to attack …
  • … lines in Vinita, it changed crews as well.
  • … "champions of survivorship" by Frederick Crews , who considers Freud the key …
  • For dinner both crews usually got porridge with butter.
  • … of the harbour and the crews were re-embarked aboard Trenchant.
  • … The Rough South of Harry Crews , which won an Emmy and …
  • Crews sees Freud as having anticipated …
  • The crews consumed crackers and corned beef, …

Examples of “cruise”

  • … American rancher while aboard a cruise , all the while still harboring …
  • … which was called the "Radarange".1945 Cruise control Cruise control automatically controls the …
  • Diane agrees to the cruise , but vows to return to …
  • Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America have …
  • Category:Defunct cruise lines
  • … as a "boy(servant)" on various cruise ships and worked as a …
  • … first flight in 2021, a cruise speed of 300 knots, a …
  • … of 2013, the recently created cruise company Portuscale Cruise s, led by …
  • … of Mach 0.96, (its design cruise speed is Mach 0.85) in …
  • Cruise ships arrive and depart from …

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet .)

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  • What is a homophone?
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cruise, crews

The words cruise, crews sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do cruise, crews sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: cruise, crews are homophones of the English language.

More homophones

Plural form of crew.

To sail or travel about, as for pleasure or reconnaissance.

To go or move along, especially in an unhurried or unconcerned fashion: "A whole cache of babies . . . cruised imperiously in their strollers, propelled by their mothers or by pairs of grandmothers” ( Anne Tyler).

To travel at a constant speed or at a speed providing maximum operating efficiency for a sustained period.

Informal To move leisurely about an area in the hope of discovering something: taxis cruising for fares.

Definitions from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License, from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

Share cruise, crews

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").

Homophones By Letter

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ENGLISH HOMOPHONES LIST & EXAMPLES - For ESL SPEAKERS

The ultimate homophones list – practice exercises, record & compare your pronunciation.

A wise person once said ‘English spelling and pronunciation is CRAZY’. They were right! English homophones highlight how variable English spelling and pronunciation is. These variations make pronunciation difficult for ESL speakers.

What is a homophone? A h o mophone is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word but has different spelling and meaning. For example, ‘one’ and ‘won’ are pronounce d the same (/ wʌn/ in the IPA) but the have different spelling and different meanings. 

Did you know that ‘ muscles’ and ‘mussels’ are pronounced exactly the same? And ‘ crews’ and ‘cruise’? How can words that look so different be pronounced the same way? These are some of the many homophones in English that trap ESL speakers, and some of the many homophones that you will correct here today. 

English Homophone Exercises

Test your pronunciation with this homophones practice page. Hear homophones and practice them out loud to check your pronunciation. Today you’ll correct over 100 homophone examples and download your English homophone pdf. 

To show how to pronounce homophones we use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA are the symbols you see after the words in the brackets – like this / wʌn /. These IPA symbols  tell us exactly which sounds to pronounce in each word. Don’t worry if you don’t know all the IPA symbols. Here is what you need to know about  the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) .

Remember in the IPA  the two dots /:/ means the vowel is long, remember that  each IPA symbol represents a sound and this dash /’/ means the next syllable is stressed. 

English Homophone Examples With Short Vowels

Hear homophone word pairs and practice these English homophones sentences out loud with the recording tool. Listen and then record and compare your own pronunciation of each English homophone examples with the native speaker. 

While practicing these English homophones exercises, pay attention to the word stress, rhythm and emphasis

one  – won         / wʌn /

I won one. 

Listen to the Native Speaker

berry – bury         / ˈbe.ri /

I’ll bury the berry.

knot – not         / nɒt /

It’s not in a knot.

billed – build          / bɪld / You build and I’ll review what we’ve been billed. 

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English Homophones List – More Homophones examples with short vowels with IPA

Berry – bury                  /ˈ be.ri /, bread – bred                 /bred /, lead ( n) – led                /led /, cell – sell                       / sel /, sent – scent – cent     /sent/, flex – flecks                 / fleks /, check –  cheque            / tʃek /, weather-whether       / ˈ we.ðə /, guessed-guest           / ɡest /, effect–affect               / əˈfekt /, ad  – add                       / æd /, band – banned           / bænd /, wrap – rap                   / ræp /, tax – tacks                   / tæks /, packed pact               / pækt /, carat – carrot            /ˈ kæ.rət /, would – wood             / wʊd /, one – won                      / wʌn /, son – sun                        / sʌn /, none   – nun                   / nʌn /, some – sum                   / sʌm /, muscles-mussels       / ˈ mʌ.səlz /, knot – not                      / nɒt /, what – watt                    / wɒt /, profit – prophet             /ˈ prɒ.fɪt /, him- hymn                  / hɪm /, billed – build              / bɪld /, missed – mist             / mɪst /, which – witch             / wɪtʃ /, addition–edition     / əˈ dɪ.ʃən /   , illicit  – elicit                / ɪˈlɪ.sɪt /, english homophone examples with long vowels.

The homophones practice below are words that are traps for ESL speakers. Many non-native English speakers don’t realise that these words are homophones. 

Time for your English Homphone practice out loud to check these homophones pairs and English homophones sentences. 

Remember that each homophone pair in this section has a LONG vowel sound. So make sure you pronounce a long /u:/ vowel in crews and cruise, a long /i:/ vowel in sweet, suite, genes and jeans and a long ‘or’ vowel in pause and paws.  

Listen to the recording and then record your own speech to check your pronunciation of the English homophones examples – check the two homophones sounds the same. 

crews – cruise        /kru:z/

The crews enjoyed the cruise. .

suite – sweet        /swiːt/

Each suite has sweets.  

genes – jeans          / dʒiːnz /       I have my mother’s genes and a new pair of jeans  

pause – paws        /pɔːz/

The vet paused to check the cat’s paws. , english homophones list – more homophone examples with long vowels with ipa. , be – bee                       / biː/, key – quay                   / ki ː/, sea – see                      / si ː/, seas – sees – seize    / si ːz /, seam – seem              / siːm /, beat – beet                  / biːt /, bean – been               / biːn /, feet – feat                  / fi:t /, meat – meet              / miːt /, creak – creek             / kriːk /, weak – week             / wiːk /, peak  – peek             / pi:k /, read – reed                / riːd /, steal – steel              / stiːl /, heal  – heel               / hi:l /, scene – seen            / siːn /, teas – tease              / tiːz /, piece – peace          / piːs /, ceiling -sealing      /ˈ si ː. lɪŋ /, sweet – suite          / swiːt /, genes – jeans        / dʒiːnz /, cereal – serial     / ˈ si :. ri.jəl /, awe – oar – or                  / ɔ ː /, your – you’re                    / jɔ ː/, for – four                           / fɔ ː/, saw – sore – soar           / sɔ ː/, paw – pour – poor         / pɔ ː/, shore – sure                    / ʃɔ ː/, raw – roar                         / rɔ ː /, bored – board                 / bɔːd /, sort – sought                  / sɔːt /, caught – court                / kɔːt /, hall – haul                         / hɔːl /, sauce – source                / sɔːs /, horse – hoarse                 / hɔːs /, pause – paws                    / pɔːz /, morning -mourning    /ˈ mɔ ː. nɪŋ /, to – too – two                    / tu ː/, you – u – ewe                    / ju ː/, cue – queue                      / kju :/, threw – through               / θ ru ː/, knew – new                        / nju ː/, flew – flu                             /fluː/, blew – blue                        / blu ː/, chews – choose              / tʃuːz /, crews – cruise                   / kruːz /, root – route  ( u k   aus )      / ruːt /, moose–mousse             / muːs / , heard – herd                       / hɜːd /, passed – past                     / pɑːst /, aren’t –aunt (uk  aus )       / ɑːnt /, draft – draught                / dra:ft /.

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5 emails – start today, key areas of difficulty for speakers of your first language, record a clear and professional voicemail greeting, how problems with your pronunciation affect clarity, improve your word stress, emphasis & rhythm in english, improve some key vowel sounds that are important for clear english, correct many commonly mispronounced words, tips on how to improve your pronunciation and fluency in your day to day life, and lots more..., english homophone examples with diphthong vowels .

Many ESL speakers have difficulty with the words below because they have double vowels! Make sure you make two vowel sounds -/oʊ/ in rose, rows, thrown and throne, /eɪ/ in way, weigh, whey and /aɪ/ in sight and site.

It often really helps learners to understand these are homophones. Many students say to me ‘I’ve been trying to say them differently all this time’ because they just didn’t realise they were homophones.

Listen to each of these homophone pairs and get your important English homophone practice for each. This practice is really important. Some people don’t like listening to the sound of your own voice, but it is really important to actively complete these English homophone exercises by recording your own speech.

When you listen to the homophones sentences, remember to pay attention to the pitch of the voice, the up and down. This is the way we mark the stressed syllables in each sentence.

rose – rows        /roʊz/

Find a rose in the rows., thrown – throne        /θroʊn/, it was thrown over the throne., way – weigh – whey     /weɪ/ which way do we weigh the whey, sight – site            /saɪt/, there was a strange sight on the site. , english homophones list – more homophone examples with diphthong vowels with ipa, see a homophone word list below of homophones with double / diphthong vowels.  , ate – eight   / eɪt /, way – weigh – whey   / weɪ /, pray – prey  / preɪ /, wait – weight   / weɪt /, waist – waste   / weɪst /, great – grate   / greɪt /, made – maid  / meɪd /, break – brake  / breɪk /, steak – stake  / steɪk /, rain  – reign  / reɪn /, plain – plane   / pleɪn /, vein – vain – vane  / veɪn /, pain – pane  / peɪn /, base – bass   / beɪs /, phase – faze   / feɪz /, raise – rays   / reɪz /, faint – feint    / feɪnt /, sail – sale   / seɪl /, mail – male   / meɪl /, tail – tale   / teɪl /, bail – bale   / beɪl /, wail – whale   / weɪl /, die – dye   / daɪ /, high – hi   / haɪ /, buy – by   –   bye      / baɪ /, bite – byte – bight  / baɪt /, night – knight       / naɪt /, right – write   / raɪt /, sight – site  / saɪt /, tide – tied   / t a ɪd /, side  – sighed   / saɪd /, mind –  mined   / maɪnd /, find  – fined   / faɪnd /, i’ll – aisle – isle  / aɪl /, idle – idol   /ˈ aɪ.dəl /  , higher  – hire     / ˈ haɪ.jə /, know – no   / noʊ /, toe – tow   / toʊ /, so – sow  (verb)   – sew    / soʊ /, soul – sole   / soʊl /, rose – rows   / roʊz /, knows – nose  / noʊz /, roll – role   / roʊl /, whole – hole   / hoʊl /, holy – wholly   –   holy    / ˈ hoʊ.li /, loan – lone  / loʊn /, thrown – throne   / θ roʊn /, road   –   rode   / roʊd /, wrote – rote   / roʊt /, grown – groan   / groʊn /, bow  ( v) – bough    / baʊ /, foul – fowl   / faʊl /, allowed – aloud    / əˈlaʊd /, flower – flour  /ˈ flaʊ.wə /, air – heir   / eə /, pair – pear       / peər /   , hair – hare    / h eə /, fair  – fare     / feə /, stair – stare    / steə /, bare -bear   / beə /, there – they’re  –   their   / ðeə /, where – we’re   –   wear   / weə /, mare – mayor    / meə /, hear – here  / hɪə /, tear (n) – tier  / tɪə /, dear   – deer   / dɪə /, boy – buoy   / bɔɪ /, english homophone examples that are longer words.

Ok – we’re done with the easy peezey one syllable words. Now it’s time for multi-syllable English homophones practice!

Many non-native English speakers don’t realise that these words are homophones and it really improves their pronunciation and confidence when they see that words like  gorrilla – guerilla and  kernal – colonel and career – Korea  are prononced exactly the same way.

While some of these homophones are not words we use all the time, they are still quite common and many of my students say ‘Oh wow – all these years I have avoided using the word ‘colonel’ because I wan’t sure how to pronounce it’ and many say they didn’t understand that word when listening to others.

In these homophones, you need to pay attention to word stress and putting the emphasis on the right syllable in words.  

Many ESL speakers have difficulty with word stress. Improve your word stress with these word stress exercises .

As you hear each English homophones exercise below, listen carefully to where I place the word stress. P ay attention to the up and down – or the ‘pitch’ of my voice. Focus on word stress in your own speech as you practice and record your pronunciation. 

kernal – colonel

/ˈ kɜ ː. nəl /

flower –  flour

gorrilla – guerilla

cereal – serial 

/ ˈsɪ.ri.jəl /

English Homophones List – Longer word homophone examples with IPA 

Double check your word stress in each of the homophone examples below.

Make sure you are getting the stress on the right syllable while you complete this English homophone practice. Remember that the  /ˈ/ in the IPA tells you that the word stress is on the next syllable. 

career – Korea                              / kəˈrɪ.jə / assistance – assistants              /əˈsɪs.tənts/ attendance – attendants           /əˈten.dənts/ patients – patience                    /ˈpeɪ.ʃəns/  colonel – kernel                         /ˈkɜː.nəl/ council – counsel                       /ˈkaʊnt.səl/ councillor  counsellor               /ˈkaʊnt.sə.lə/ gorilla – guerrilla                           /gəˈrɪ.lə/ principle – principal                   /ˈpeɪ.ʃəns/ marshal – martial                       /ˈmɑː.ʃəl/  

Downloading the full homophone list below for English homophone practice will help you correct many words that are commonly mispronounced by ESL speakers.  

In my experience, the most commonly mispronouned English homophones are ‘career’ and ‘Korea’. Many ESL speakers mispronounce the word ‘career’. They put the word stress on the first syllable.  The word stress should be on the 2nd syllable – exactly the same as in the word ‘Korea’.

Don’t confuse these with ‘courier’ – which is not a homophone. Courier is pronounced  / ˈkʊ.ri.ə r /. 

Download English Homophones pdf 

Would you like a English Homophones Word List pdf download? Here is the full English homphones list of over 100 English homophones. This list includes the most commonly mispronounced English homophones with the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA in a printable .pdf that you can download. 

This is the one of the most comprehensive English homphones lists available and it includes the IPA International Phonetic Alphabet for each homophone example. This homophones list includes all the homophones mentioned on this page and is split into sections for short vowels, long vowels, dipthong vowels and longer words.

This English homophones printable list is a great tool for ESL speakers. 

You should remember to pay attention to vowels and word stress as you go through the list.

For homophone practice with long vowels (you’ll see /:/ in the IPA), you should check you are making a long vowel and not a short vowel.

For homophones practice that have diphthong vowels, make sure you get two vowels in each diphthong vowel.

And importantly, for the homophones practice for multi-syllable words, pay attention to making good word stress in each homophone pair. 

Click the button below to download the English homophones pdf with IPA symbols. This is your full English homophones printable list for revising and improving homophones for clearer spoken English. 

Homophones and Your English Speaking Confidence

When people lack confidence with their spoken English it can really hold them back. It’s tiring and exhausting! 

Revising areas such as how to pronounce English homophones can really help.  The English pronunciation homophones exercises on this page can help people improve their speaking confidence through improved pronunciation skills. 

For many ESL students, covering homophones is an eye opener. We say something is an ‘eye-opener’ when it’s surprising. Many of them say to me ‘All these years and I’ve been trying to say those two words differently, and now I know that they are actually pronounced the same way!’

For example, many of my overseas students from non-English speaking backgrounds mispronounce words like ‘pause’ – they use the incorrect vowel sounds. It helps so much when they understand that ‘pause’ is exactly the same as ‘paws’.

It gives people confidence to know that they are pronouncing homophones correctly. 

Correcting your pronunciation of homophones with this English homphones list can make your English clearer and build your speaking confidence. You can be confident that you are pronouncing these words clearly and correctly. 

cruise homophones meaning

How to Pronounce CREWS & CRUISE – American English Homophone Pronunciation Lesson

Aug 2, 2022 | Homophone Pronunciation Lessons , How to pronounce English words correctly , Pronunciation Training

Learn how to pronounce the words CREWS & CRUISE with this American English Homophone Pronunciation Lesson. These words are homophones and are pronounced exactly the same way.

Definitions:

CRUISE: a sailing ship

CREWS: a group of workers

Pronunciation:

These words are pronounced exactly the same way!

The work crews took a cruise.

This may be helpful:

Hospitality & Travel Vocabulary 🧳 English Pronunciation Lessons Playlist

Transcript:

Hi! Jennifer from Tarle speech with your two for Tuesday. Two words spelled differently, different meanings, but pronounced exactly the same way. Yes, these words are pronounced the same way.

We have cruise a sailing ship and crews a group of workers.

So to say these words correctly, let’s start with that k sound. Tip of the tongue is down, back of the tongue is pulled high up, air puffs out, then you’re going to move to that r sound by moving your lips to a square tense shape. For me the tip of my tongue stays down, and the back of my tongue stays up, for others of you, the tip of your tongue will flip back, and that is okay too, just as long as you do not touch the tip of the tongue to the teeth for that r sound.

Next we’re going to move to the ew and to do that pucker. As you pucker your tongue is just flat in the middle of your mouth.

And then end with the z z. To do this, the tip of your tongue is behind the top front teeth or it’s pointed down towards the bottom of the mouth. Air is moving out of your nose and your voice box is on vibrating and moving. Z

Let’s put it all together: cruise cruise cruise crews crews crews cruise crews

And now for a sentence:

Give it a try people are going to notice the difference. If you found this helpful please share us with your friends, give us a like. and subscribe. If you’re looking for more help check out our website tarle speech.com for products and classes.

Thanks so much everyone have an amazing week!

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Definition of homophone

Did you know.

What are homonyms , homophones , and homographs ?

Homonym can be troublesome because it may refer to three distinct classes of words. Homonyms may be words with identical pronunciations but different spellings and meanings, such as to, too , and two . Or they may be words with both identical pronunciations and identical spellings but different meanings, such as quail (the bird) and quail (to cringe). Finally, they may be words that are spelled alike but are different in pronunciation and meaning, such as the bow of a ship and bow that shoots arrows. The first and second types are sometimes called homophones , and the second and third types are sometimes called homographs —which makes naming the second type a bit confusing. Some language scholars prefer to limit homonym to the third type.

Examples of homophone in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homophone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

International Scientific Vocabulary

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Cite this entry.

“Homophone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homophone. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of homophone, more from merriam-webster on homophone.

Nglish: Translation of homophone for Spanish Speakers

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Definition of crew noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

on ships and planes

  • crew members
  • in a crew all the men and women in the crew
  • None of the passengers and crew were injured.
  • The crew of the plane instructed everyone to remain seated.
  • a change of crew in Frankfurt
  • experienced
  • inexperienced
  • in a/​the crew
  • cast and crew
  • a member of the crew

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cruise homophones meaning

Homophones: Definition and Examples

Homophones cover image

What Is a Homophone?

A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but is usually spelled differently and has a different meaning. Homophones may consist of two or more words, although pairs are more common than three or more words that sound the same. Examples of homophones that have three words are to , too , and two , and their , there , and they're .

The English language is, honestly, a bit of a mess, and homophones are extra tricky. Today, we're learning what homophones are, how to use them correctly, and where you can find homophones hiding in English.

What Is the Difference between Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs?

Do homophones always have different spellings? Well, it depends on who you ask. Let's look at some other types of tricky words.

There are homophones, homographs, and homonyms . That's enough to make anyone's head spin! How do you tell the difference?

We can start by looking at the etymology of the words. The prefix homo- means "same." The root phone comes from the Greek word phonos , which means "sound." That means a homophone has the same sound . You can remember this by thinking of a phone, which we hear sounds through.

The etymology of homphone

An example of a homophone pair is fare and fair . They sound alike but have different meanings. They are also spelled differently.

The root graph derives from the Greek graphein , which means "to write." Same + write tells us that homographs are words that are written the same. They have the same spelling but different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations. Remember this by thinking of graphite, the part of a pencil that writes.

What is a homograph

Now, let's look at homonyms. Nym comes from the Greek word for "name." Homonym means "same name," but the definition of a homonym really depends on who you ask.

Some resources say that “homonym” only applies to words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently in addition to having different definitions. In other words, it's a homograph that does not sound alike.

In this strict sense, an example is bow . If you pronounce bow with a short /o/ sound, it can mean a part of a ship. If you pronounce it with a long /o/ sound, it's something that shoots arrows.

Other resources say that a homonym is a word that is both a homophone and a homograph. It sounds the same, looks the same, and has different meanings.

One example of a homonym using this definition would be pitcher . It can mean the person who throws the ball in baseball or a vessel for pouring water. They sound the same and look the same, but they have different meanings.

What is a homonym

Still others think that homonym is more of an umbrella term. Homophones and homographs are both types of homonyms. This is the definition we will use.

Now that you know the difference between the types of homonyms, let's learn about homophones in more detail.

Do Homophones Rhyme?

Homophones rhyme because they are words that sound alike. When words rhyme, they have the same ending vowel sound. All homophones are rhymes, but not all rhymes are homophones.

Do homophones rhyme

What Are the Most Common Homophones in English?

There are thousands of English homophones. It's hard to pin down an exact number because some words are homophones depending on regional accents. For example, sometimes people say "then" and "than" exactly the same, while others emphasize the differing vowel sounds.

Examples of homophones

Here are a few examples of common English homophones. We'll go into more detail on some of these in a later section:

  • there/their/they're
  • which/witch
  • whether/weather
  • accept/except
  • you're/your

These are just a few of the most commonly confused homophones in English. We'll look at even more examples in the following sections.

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How Do I Know Which Homophone to Use?

It's important to know which homophone to use to ensure your meaning is clear. But how can you keep up when there are so many homophones to use?

Some homophones have tricks to help you remember them. Let's look at one of the most commonly confused homophones: to / too / two . It's extra tricky because it contains more than two words.

To is a preposition with several meanings. Too means extra or excess. You can remember this by thinking "too has too many Os." Two is the number 2. Remember "twins" to remind you that we spell this homophone with a TW.

Difference between two, too, and to

Mnemonic devices can help you remember the difference between two or more words. But there are just too many homophones to come up with a cool trick for all of them!

You can always check the dictionary. Or you can use ProWritingAid. Our Homonym Report will check for all of the homophones and homographs that you might have mixed up in your writing. You can find this report under “More Reports” or add it to your “Combo Report” settings to check for homophones every time.

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What Are Some Examples of Homophones?

We've looked at a few examples of English homophones, but there are so many! Let's go more in depth with our examples.

What Are Some Common Homophones with Their Definitions?

There / their / they're is one of the most commonly confused set of homophones. But these three words have more than just different spellings—they have very different meanings.

There has a number of applications across different parts of speech, but the definitions relate to a location or place. Their is the third-person plural possessive pronoun. They're is a contraction that means "they are."

Another common homophone pair that people mix up often is your / you're . Your is the second-person possessive pronoun. You're is a contraction that means "you are."

Here means “this place,” while hear means “to sense sound.” Whether is a conjunction, while weather is the conditions outdoors.

One is the number 1. Won is the past tense of the verb "win." Accept is a verb that means “to receive or to agree.” Except is used to talk about excluding something or someone.

Another triplet homophone is by / buy / bye . By is a preposition that usually means “near” or “next to.” Buy is a verb that means “to purchase.” Bye is short for "goodbye."

Which is a preposition that means "what one." A witch is a woman who does magic and might conjure images of pointy black hats and giant cauldrons.

A way is a path. We use the verb weigh to find out how heavy something is.

Its is the possessive form of the pronoun "it." It shows that something belongs to it, e.g., the dog chewed its bone. It's is a contraction that means "it is."

We hope these definitions clear up some confusion about common homophones. But how do you use these tricky homophones in your writing?

What Are Some Examples of Homophones in Sentences?

Example of homophones used in a sentence

We've defined several homophones that are all spelled differently. But the best way to understand homophones is to see them in the wild. Here are some example sentences with homophones.

  • I always try to do the right thing. / Do you write fiction or nonfiction?
  • When you see a bear , play dead. / My bare arms are freezing!
  • Look how much he has grown . / He let out a groan at the terrible joke.
  • You're not allowed to go to the party. / She's never said the words aloud .
  • They will sell their house next year. / Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell .
  • Do you know the muffin man? / He had no money left.
  • My son is very handsome. / The sun shines brightly.
  • Do you think the cake is too sweet ? / The hotel suite has two bedrooms and a small kitchen.
  • I'm not giving you another cent ! / The hounds caught the scent of the rabbit and ran after it.
  • He was so angry he punched a hole in the wall. / I was so hungry I ate the whole pie in one sitting.
  • She came in fourth at the gymnastics meet. / Go forth and conquer!
  • Clean up the mess in the pasta aisle . / Have you ever visited the Isle of Wight?

We could give you homophone examples all day! But now you can apply what you have learned about homophones to your own writing. Can you think of any other homophones that we didn't include? Let us know in the comments.

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What Are Homophones?

Lindsay Kramer

Homophones are words that are pronounced the same way but have different meanings. Sometimes they’re spelled identically and sometimes they aren’t. 

When you’re learning a new language, homophones can be tricky. They can even be confusing if you’re a primary speaker of a language, especially when you’re writing. Read on to learn more about homophones, commonly confused homophones, and how to be a homophone pro.

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Types of homophones

Not all homophones are the same. When two words sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings, they are known as homonyms. For example, “knead” and “need” are homonyms as well as homophones. 

Homophones can be further classified as homographs and heterographs .  

Homographs are words that are spelled the same way, could be pronounced differently, and have different meanings. For example, “hail,” as in “I’ll hail a taxi,” and “hail,” as in “I got stuck in the hail,” are homographs, as are “bow” as in “I’ll tie the ribbon in a bow” and “bow” as in “Take a bow after you perform the song.”

Heterographs are words that are spelled differently and have different meanings, but are still pronounced the same way. “Flower” and “flour” are examples of heterographs. 

In contrast, heteronyms are words that are spelled the same, but pronounced differently and have different meanings. An example is “tear,” as in “he had a tear in his eye,” and “tear,” as in “please tear up the paper”.

And then there are oronyms, a category of phrases that is sometimes grouped with homophones. Like homophones, oronyms sound the same, but they have different meanings—and they don’t always sound identical. “World peace” and “whirled peas” are examples of oronyms. 

There is also a category known as pseudo-homophones . These are pairs of words that sound identical, but one of the words is not an actual, recognized word. An example of a pair of pseudo-homophones is groan and grone (“grone” is an obsolete form of “groan”). Pseudo-homophones are more esoteric, as they’re typically used in lexical decision tasks to measure how quickly a study participant recognizes a word during psychology and psycholinguistic studies. 

Synophones are words that sound almost, but not quite, the same and have different meanings. Assure, ensure, and insure are synophones, for example. 

Commonly confused homophones

Because they sound the same, it can be easy to get homophones mixed up and use the wrong one in your writing. Below are a few of the most commonly confused homophones in English: 

Then is an adverb used to describe where something fits into a series of events:

  • We ate dinner, then we went mini-golfing.

Than is a conjunction or preposition used to compare two things:

  • My dog is bigger than his dog.

Three commonly confused English homophones are to, too, and two . 

To is a preposition, infinitive marker, or an adverb that indicates movement or that the verb being used is in the infinitive form:

  • They went to the mall.
  • I’d like to order a pizza.

Too is an adverb and can indicate that something is excessive or that something is happening in addition to another thing:

  • The music was way too loud.
  • My sister wanted some candy too .

Two is the number that falls between one and three:

  • So I brought my sister two packs of gummy worms.

There/their/they’re

Three other commonly confused English homophones are there, their, and they’re .

There is an adverb that describes a location or position:

  • I’m excited to visit New York again, as I haven’t been there in almost a year.

Their is a possessive pronoun:

  • The students voted for Disney World as their graduation trip.

They’re is a contraction of the words “they” and “are” :

  • The park is overrun with ducks— they’re everywhere! 

Your/you’re

Your is a pronoun that shows possession:

  • I’ve never been to your house.

You’re is a contraction of the words you and are:

  • You’re invited to my birthday party next week.

More of the most common English homophones

  • affect/effect
  • whether/weather/wether
  • principle/principal
  • brake/break
  • waist/waste
  • complement/compliment
  • discreet/discrete
  • illicit/elicit
  • sight/site/cite
  • carrot/caret/carat

Why do languages have homophones?

There are a few different reasons why languages have homophones. Some languages have significantly fewer phonetic syllables than others and this limited syllable set makes homophones almost inevitable. Chinese is one such family of languages, and with Chinese dialects’ emphasis on context, homophones play an important role in communication and understanding. 

In other languages, such as English, homophones largely stem from words’ pronunciations changing over time. All languages evolve as people migrate, mesh with new cultures, develop new technology and new needs, and integrate new languages with their own. Languages evolve into distinct regional dialects as well and sometimes, words that are homophones in one dialect aren’t homophones in another. One example of this in US English are the words “marry,” “merry,” and “Mary.” In some parts of the US, these three words sound the same and in others, they have distinct pronunciations. 

Many of today’s homophones didn’t start out as homophones. One example of English homophones that were initially pronounced differently is knight and night. The word “knight” was spelled “cniht” in Old English and it was related to the Dutch word “knecht,” both of which pronounce the letter “k” at the beginning of the word. “Night,” on the other hand, evolved from the Old English “neaht” and “niht.” Following the Norman Invasion and English’s shift away from its Germanic roots, the pronounced “k” sound began to drift away , leaving us with a silent letter at the beginning of the word “knight.” Other words, like “knot,” “knife,” and “knit,” followed a similar progression as English evolved from a strictly Germanic language to one with significant Latin influences.

How are homophones used?

Nearly every language has homophones. From language to language, how they work—and their cultural significance—varies. In many languages, homophones are a key part of puns and other types of wordplay. 

Here’s an example:

What do you call a piece of wood that has nothing to do?

Get it? The piece of wood is a board and, because it has nothing to do, it’s bored.

The joke isn’t so funny written out like this, but it at least garners a groan when spoken aloud. And the very thing that makes it amusing is the thing that makes it and similar jokes tough for new language learners: the homophone. Beyond grasping humor, homophones can make it difficult for multilingual speakers to grasp nuance when speaking, listening, and writing. 

If you’re having a conversation or reading text in a new language and a word sounds out of place, it might be a homophone. Ask the speaker or sender to clarify the word or take a moment to look it up. Mastering a new language’s homophones can be a lengthy, complicated process, but it’s a key part of developing true fluency in a new language. 

cruise homophones meaning

200 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

A List of Easily Confused Words With Practice Exercises

  • An Introduction to Punctuation
  • Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
  • M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
  • B.A., English, State University of New York

Homonyms are two or more words that have the same sound or  spelling  but differ in  meaning . Homophones—which means "same sounds" in Latin—are two or more words, such as  knew  and  new  or  meat  and  meet , that are  pronounced  the same but differ in meaning, origin, and often spelling. Homographs, meanwhile, are words that have the same spelling but differ in origin, meaning, and sometimes  pronunciation , such as the verb  bear  (to carry or endure) and the noun  bear  (the animal with a shaggy coat).

Words that fall under any of these three categories often confuse readers and writers alike. But they need not perplex you: Understanding the meaning of these three grammatical terms and, especially, being able to recognize them can help clear up any confusion. A list of some of the most common homonyms, homophones, and homographs can help any writer use these words correctly and any reader or listener recognize them when they occur.

Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs 

Here is a listing of some the most common homonyms, homophones, and homographs. The first column contains homonyms in alphabetical order, while the second and third columns list the corresponding homonym, homophone, or homograph as applicable.

Practice Using Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

Complete each of the following sentences by filling in the blank with the correct word. You'll find the answers at the end of the exercise. To heighten interest, all of the sentences are quotes from various authors' writings in books and magazine articles published over the years. Feel free to use the previous table to help you if you get stumped.

  • “He simply sat down on the ledge and forgot everything _____ [ accept or  except]  the marvelous mystery.” — Lawrence Sargent Hall
  • "I live in the Oakland Hills in a tiny house on a street so windy you can’t drive more than ten miles per hour. I rented it because the _____ [ ad or add ] said this: 'Small house in the trees with a garden and a fireplace. Dogs welcome, of course.'" — Pam Houston
  • "Francis wondered what _____ [ advice or  advise ] a psychiatrist would have for him." — John Cheever
  • "The _____ [ aid or aide ] gets out of the way, picking her skirt out of the rubble of children at her feet." — Rosellen Brown
  • "He seemed to want to recapture the cosseted feeling he'd had when he'd been sick as a child and she would serve him flat ginger _____ [ ail or  ale ], and toast soaked in cream, and play endless card games with him, using his blanket-covered legs as a table." — Alice Elliott Dark
  • "He sat down and leaned forward, pulling the chair's rear legs into the _____ [ air, ere, or heir ] so that the waitress could get by." — Stanley Elkins
  • "[T]he stewardess was moving down the _____ [ aisle, I'll , or isle ], like a trained nurse taking temperatures in a hospital ward, to see that they were all properly strapped in for the take-off." — Martha Gellhorn
  • "Mrs. Parmenter laughed at his _____ [ allusion or illusion ] to their summer at Mrs. Sterrett's, in Rome, and gave him her coat to hold." — Willa Cather
  • "In the long years between, she had fashioned many fine dresses—gowned gay girls for their conquests and robed fair brides for the _____ [ altar or alter ]." — Mary Lerner
  • "On a Saturday morning soon after he came to live with her, he turned over her garbage while she was at the grocery store and _____ [ ate or eight ] rancid bacon drippings out of a small Crisco can." — Pam Durban
  • "The barn was bigger than a church, and the fall's fresh hay _____ [ bails or  bales ] were stacked to the roof in the side mows." — John Updike
  • "Her two spare dresses were gone, her comb was gone, her checkered coat was gone, and so was the mauve hair-_____ [ band or banned ] with a mauve bow that had been her hat." — Vladimir Nabokov
  • "Without the shelter of those trees, there is a great exposure—back yards, clotheslines, woodpiles, patchy sheds and barns and privies—all _____ [ bare or bear ], exposed, provisional looking." — Alice Munro
  • "This was the time when outfields were larger than they are today and well-hit balls would roll for a long time, giving runners ample time to round the _____ [ bases or basis ] for a home run." — Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney
  • "The conductor had his knotted signal cord to pull, and the motorman _____ [ beat or beet ] the foot gong with his mad heel." — Saul Bellow
  • "Nancy held the cup to her mouth and _____ [ blew or blue ] into the cup." — William Faulkner
  • "A pigeon landed nearby. It hopped on its little red feet and pecked into something that might have been a dirty piece of stale _____ [ bread or bred ] or dried mud." — Isaac Bashevis Singer
  • "He was wearing a new hat of a pretty biscuit shade, for it never occurred to him to _____ [ buy, by , or bye ] anything of a practical color; he had put it on for the first time and the rain was spoiling it." — Katherine Anne Porter

Answers to the Exercise

1. except 2. ad 3. advice 4. aide 5. ale 6. air 7. aisle 8. allusion 9. altar 10. ate 11. bales 12. band 13. bare 14. bases 15. beat 16. blew  17. bread 18. buy

  • Hall, Lawrence Sargent. "The Ledge." The Hudson Review, 1960.
  • Houston, Pam. "Waltzing the Cat." Washington Square Press, 1999, New York.
  • Cheever, John. "The Country Husband." The New Yorker, 1955.
  • Brown, Rosellen. "How to Win." The Massachusetts Review, 1975.
  • Dark, Alice Elliott. "In the Gloaming." The New Yorker. 1994.
  • Elkins, Stanley. "Criers and Kibitzers, Kibitzers and Criers." Perspective, 1962.
  • Gellhorn, Martha. "Miami-New York." The Atlantic Monthly, 1948.
  • Cather, Willa. "Double Birthday." "Uncle Valentine and Other Stories." University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Neb., 1986.
  • Lerner, Mary. "Little Selves." The Atlantic Monthly, 1915.
  • Durban, Pam. "Soon." The Southern Review, 1997.
  • Updike, John. "My Father's Tears and Other Stories." Knopf, 2009, New York.
  • Nabokov, Vladimir "That in Aleppo Once..." The Atlantic Monthly, 1944.
  • Munro, Alice. "Meneseteung." The New Yorker, 1989.
  • Silva, Deidre, and Koney, Jackie. "It Takes More Than Balls: The Savvy Girls' Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Baseball." Skyhorse, 2008, New York.
  • Bellow, Saul. "A Silver Dish." The New Yorker, 1979.
  • Faulkner, William. "That Evening Sun Go Down." The American Mercury, 1931.
  • Singer, Isaac Bashevis. "The Key." "A Friend of Kafka." Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979, New York.
  • Katherine Anne Porter, "Theft." The Gyroscope, 1930.
  • Learn About Homonyms and See Examples
  • 200 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs (F - L)
  • Homonyms - Homophone Worksheets
  • What Are Homographs?
  • Adverb of Frequency (Grammar)
  • Spanish Homophones and Homographs
  • Grate and Great
  • Flew, Flu, and Flue
  • Compound Adverb
  • The Commonly Confused Verbs Shall and Will
  • Practice in Using Quotation Marks Correctly
  • Definition of Negation in English Grammar Plus Many Examples
  • 4 Rules for Using Commas Effectively
  • The 44 Sounds in the English Language
  • Building the Erie Canal

My English Tutors

Homophones List: 400+ Common Homophones in English for ESL Learners!

Homophones List! A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. This lesson provides a list of common homophones in English for students who want to master their English.

Table of Contents

Common Homophones List

A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. Below is a list of homophones you should notice:

  • accede — exceed
  • accept — except
  • addition — edition
  • adds — adz — ads
  • affect — effect
  • affected — effected
  • all ready — already
  • all together — altogether
  • all ways — always
  • apatite — appetite
  • apprise — apprize
  • ariel — aerial
  • arrant — errant
  • ascent — assent
  • assistance — assistants
  • ate — eight
  • atom — Adam
  • axel — axle
  • axes — axis
  • aye — eye — I
  • ayes — eyes
  • baal — bail — bale
  • bait — bate
  • baited — bated
  • bald — balled — bawled
  • bale — baal — bail
  • ball — bawl
  • balled — bawled — bald
  • basal — basil
  • base — bass
  • based — baste
  • bases — basis
  • basil — basal
  • basis — bases
  • bask — basque
  • bass — base
  • baste — based
  • bate — bait
  • bated — baited
  • bawl — ball
  • beer — bier
  • beet — beat
  • bell — belle
  • berry — bury
  • berth — birth
  • better — bettor
  • bight — bite — byte
  • billed — build
  • bird — burred
  • birth — berth
  • bite — byte — bight
  • bizarre — bazaar
  • blew — blue
  • bloc — block
  • bolder — boulder
  • bomb — bombe — balm
  • bootie — booty
  • border — boarder
  • bore — boar
  • bored — board
  • born — borne
  • borough — burro — burrow
  • bough — bow
  • bouillon — bullion
  • braid — brayed
  • braise — brays
  • brake — break
  • brayed — braid
  • brays — braise
  • breach — breech
  • bread — bred
  • break — brake
  • bred — bread
  • breech — breach
  • brewed — brood
  • brews — bruise
  • bridal — bridle
  • broach — brooch
  • burro — burrow — borough
  • bury — berry
  • bussed — bust
  • buy — by — bye
  • byte — bight — bite
  • cache — cash
  • caddie — caddy
  • Cain — cane
  • calendar — calender
  • caster — castor
  • cause — caws
  • cedar — seeder
  • cede — seed
  • ceiling — sealing
  • cell — sell
  • cellar — seller
  • censor — sensor
  • cent — scent — sent
  • cents — scents — sense
  • cereal — serial
  • Ceres — series
  • cession — session
  • chance — chants
  • chased — chaste
  • chauffeur — shofar
  • cheap — cheep
  • check — Czech
  • cheep — cheap
  • chews — choose
  • chic — sheik
  • Chile — chilly — chili
  • choir — quire
  • choose — chews
  • choral — coral
  • chord — cord — cored
  • chute — shoot
  • cite — sight — site
  • cited — sided — sighted
  • clack — claque
  • clamber — clammer — clamor
  • claque — clack
  • clause — claws
  • clew — clue
  • click — clique
  • climb — clime
  • clique — click
  • close — clothes — cloze
  • clue — clew
  • coal — cole
  • coarse — course
  • coarser — courser
  • coat — cote
  • coax — cokes
  • coffers — coughers
  • cokes — coax
  • cole — coal
  • collard — collared
  • colonel — kernel
  • coolie — coulee
  • coop — coupe
  • cops — copse
  • coral — choral
  • cord — cored — chord
  • core — corps
  • cored — chord — cord
  • corps — core
  • coughers — coffers
  • coulee — coolie
  • council — counsel
  • course — coarse
  • courser — coarser
  • cousin — cozen
  • coward — cowered
  • cozen — cousin
  • craft — kraft
  • crape — crepe
  • crawl — kraal
  • creak — creek
  • crepe — crape
  • crewel — cruel
  • crews — cruise
  • cruel — crewel
  • cruise — crews
  • Dane — deign
  • days — daze
  • dear — deer
  • defused — diffused
  • deign — Dane
  • dense — dents
  • descent — dissent
  • desert (abandon) — dessert
  • dew — do — due
  • diffused — defused
  • disburse — disperse
  • discreet — discrete
  • disperse — disburse
  • dissent — descent
  • duct — ducked
  • ducts — ducks
  • due — dew — do
  • duel — dual
  • dyeing — dying
  • edition — addition
  • educe — adduce
  • effect — affect
  • effected — affected
  • effects — affects
  • eight — ate
  • elicit — illicit
  • elude — allude
  • errant — arrant
  • ewe — you — yew
  • ewes — yews — use
  • exceed — accede
  • except — accept
  • facts — fax
  • faint — feint
  • fair — fare
  • fairy — ferry
  • fare — fair
  • fate — fete
  • faun — fawn
  • fax — facts
  • faze — phase
  • feat — feet
  • feint — faint
  • fends — fens
  • ferry — fairy
  • fete — fate
  • fiancé — fiancée
  • flair — flare
  • flea — flee
  • flew — flu — flue
  • flier — flyer
  • flocks — phlox
  • floe — flow
  • flour — flower
  • flow — floe
  • flower — flour
  • flu — flue — flew
  • flyer — flier
  • foaled — fold
  • fort — forte
  • forth — fourth
  • forward — foreword
  • foul — fowl
  • four — fore — for
  • fourth — forth
  • fowl — foul
  • franc — frankfur — fir
  • gaff — gaffe
  • Gail — gale
  • gait — gate
  • gale — Gail
  • gamble — gambol
  • gene — jean
  • gibe — jibe
  • gnu — knew — new
  • gofer — gopher
  • gored — gourd
  • gorilla — guerilla
  • gourd — gored
  • grade — grayed
  • graft — graphed
  • hail — hale
  • hair — hare
  • hale — hail
  • hall — haul
  • halve — have
  • handmade — handmaid
  • handsome — hansom
  • hangar — hanger
  • hays — haze
  • he’d — heed
  • he’ll — heal — heel
  • hear — here
  • heard — herd
  • heart — hart
  • heroin — heroine
  • hertz — hurts
  • hew — hue — Hugh
  • higher — hire
  • hire — higher
  • hoard — horde
  • hoarse — horse
  • hoes — hose
  • hold — holed
  • hole — whole
  • holed — hold
  • hue — Hugh — hew
  • humerus — humorous
  • hurts — hertz
  • I — aye — eye
  • I’ll — aisle — isle
  • idle — idol — idyll
  • illicit — elicit
  • illusion — allusion
  • illusive — allusive — elusive
  • incite — insight
  • innocence — innocents
  • knave — nave
  • ladder — latter
  • lade — laid
  • lain — lane
  • lays — laze — leis
  • leach — leech
  • leak — leek
  • lean — lien
  • leased — least
  • leech — leach
  • liar — lier — lyre
  • madder — matter
  • made — maid
  • mail — male
  • main — mane — Maine
  • maize — maze
  • medal — metal — mettle — meddle
  • meet — mete — meat
  • merry — Mary — marry
  • metal — mettle — meddle — medal
  • mete — meat — meet
  • meteor — meatier
  • mints — mince
  • missal — missile
  • missed — mist
  • misses — Mrs.
  • missile — missal
  • mist — missed
  • mite — might
  • moan — mown
  • moat — mote
  • mode — mowed
  • mood — mooed
  • moose — mousse
  • morn — mourn
  • morning — mourning
  • mote — moat
  • mourn — morn
  • mourning — morning
  • mousse — moose
  • mowed — mode
  • mown — moan
  • Mrs. — misses
  • mucous — mucus
  • mule — mewl
  • muscle — mussel
  • mustard — mustered
  • naval — navel
  • nave — knave
  • navel — naval
  • nay — neigh
  • need — knead — kneed
  • neigh — nay
  • new — gnu — knew
  • nice — gneiss
  • Nice — niece
  • pain — pane
  • pair — pare — pear
  • palate — palette — pallet
  • pale — pail
  • parish — perish
  • parlay — parley
  • passed — past
  • paste — paced
  • patience — patients
  • patted — padded
  • peace — piece
  • peak — peek — pique
  • peal — peel
  • piece — peace
  • pier — peer
  • pigeon — pidgin
  • Pilate — pilot
  • pique — peak — peek
  • pistil — pistol
  • plum — plumb
  • read — reed
  • real — reel
  • reed — read
  • reek — wreak
  • reel — real
  • reign — rein — rain
  • residence — residents
  • seam — seem
  • sear — seer — sere
  • seas — sees — seize
  • seed — cede
  • sighed — side
  • sighs — size
  • sight — site — cite
  • sighted — cited — sided
  • stayed — staid
  • steak — stake
  • steal — steel
  • theirs — there’s
  • there — they’re — their
  • there’s — theirs
  • they’re — their — there
  • weighs — ways
  • weight — wait
  • we’ll — wheel
  • were — whir
  • wether — weather — whether
  • your — you’re

Learn more with an extensive list of homonyms in English with example sentences. 

Homophones List | Image

Homophones List

the honophone

balls

Foreword and forward are not homophones. Forward is pronounced /ˈfɔːwəd/ Foreword is pronounced /ˈfɔːˌwɜːd/ (Collins English Dictionary, and Cambridge Dictionary) OR /ˈfɔr wərd/ and /ˈfɔrˌwɜrd/ (Websters American Dictionary) The vowel-sound and stress on the second syllable are different.

Kathleen

You’re your yore

Raul Espino

the list is quite comprehensive. thanks for your great collection.

emilio

is so easy to use it works like a charm I use it for teaching

AMILCAR

DESEARIA QUE NO EXISTIERA ESTE SITIO WEB

brandy

there is no u

julio

yes there is

Dylan Robertson

I just noticed you missed a pair: “rack” and “wrack”.

hamdan

hi it was help full thank you

Kidoneo

Exploring Homophones with Kids: A Comprehensive List

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. They can be tricky to learn, especially for kids who are still developing their vocabulary and language skills. In this blog post, we will discuss the concept of homophones and provide a comprehensive list of homophones for kids.

Understanding Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. For example, “flower” and “flour” are homophones bcause they sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. Learning homophones is important because they can cause confusion in communication if not used correctly.

Homophones for Kids

Here are some common homophones that kids should know:

– ate / eight – blue / blew – deer / dear – flower / flour – hair / hare – knight / night – mail / male – pear / pair – right / write – sail / sale – tail / tale – waist / waste – your / you're

It's important for kids to learn the correct spelling and meaning of each homophone to avoid confusion in their writing and speaking.

Tips for Teaching Homophones

Here are some tips for teaching homophones to kids:

– Use visual aids, such as pictures or videos, to help kids understand the different meanings of homophones. – Encourage kids to use homophones in sentences to reinforce their understanding. – Play games, such as matching or fill-in-the-blank activities , to help kids practice using homophones correctly. – Read books or stories that contain homophones to help kids recognize them in context.

Homophones are an important part of the English language and can be tricky to learn. By providing a comprehensive list of homophones for kids and using teaching strategies such as visual aids and games, kids can develop a better understanding of homophones and use them correctly in their writing and speaking.

Exploring Homophones with Kids: A Comprehensive List

Examples of Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Here are 100 examples of homophones:

1. Abel – Able 2. Accede – Exceed 3. Accept – Except 4. Addition – Edition 5. All ready – Already 6. Ax – Acts 7. Axel – Axle 8. Axes – Axis 9. Aye – Eye – I 10. Bail – Bale 11. Ball – Bawl 12. Bare – Bear 13. Base – Bass 14. Be – Bee 15. Beat – Beet 16. Beer – Bier 17. Berry – Bury 18. Blew – Blue 19. Boar – Bore 20. Board – Bored 21. Brake – Break 22. Buy – Bye – By 23. Cell – Sell 24. Cent – Scent – Sent 25. Chews – Choose 26. Chord – Cord 27. Cite – Sight – Site 28. Complement – Compliment 29. Council – Counsel 30. Creak – Creek 31. Crews – Cruise 32. Dear – Deer 33. Dew – Due 34. Die – Dye 35. Doe – Dough 36. Done – Dun 37. Draft – Draught 38. Dual – Duel 39. Earn – Urn 40. Ewe – You 41. Eyelet – Islet 42. Fair – Fare 43. Feat – Feet 44. Find – Fined 45. Flair – Flare 46. Flew – Flu 47. Flour – Flower 48. Fore – Four 49. Gait – Gate 50. Gene – Jean 51. Gilt – Guilt 52. Gorilla – Guerrilla 53. Grate – Great 54. Groan – Grown 55. Hair – Hare 56. Hall – Haul 57. Hart – Heart 58. Hear – Here 59. Heel – Heal 60. Hew – Hue 61. Hi – High 62. Higher – Hire 63. Hole – Whole 64. Homely – Homey 65. Horse – Hoarse 66. Idle – Idol 67. In – Inn 68. Incite – Insight 69. It's – Its 70. Jewel – Joule 71. Just – Joust 72. Knead – Need 73. Knight – Night 74. Knot – Not 75. Know – No 76. Lacks – Lax 77. Lade – Laid 78. Lair – Liar 79. Leach – Leech 80. Lead – Led 81. Leak – Leek 82. Lessen – Lesson 83. Lewd – Lude 84. Lie – Lye 85. Loan – Lone 86. Made – Maid 87. Mail – Male 88. Main – Mane 89. Mane – Main 90. Maze – Maize 91. Meet – Meat 92. Medal – Meddle 93. Miner – Minor 94. Mist – Missed 95. Morning – Mourning 96. Muscle – Mussel 97. Mustard – Mustered 98. Nave – Knave 99. Nectar – Necked her 100. Night – Knight

These are just a few examples of homophones. It's important to remember that whle they may sound the same, they have different meanings and spellings, so it's crucial to use the correct one in your writing.

20 Pairs of Homophones

Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings. There are numerous pairs of homophones that can be confusing for writers and speakers alike. Here are 20 pairs of homophones:

1. Baring vs. bearing. 2. Bolder vs. boulder. 3. Canon vs. cannon. 4. Cite vs. sight vs. site. 5. Creak vs. creek. 6. Hole vs. whole. 7. Incite vs. insight. 8. It's vs. its. 9. Flour vs. flower. 10. Hear vs. here. 11. Knight vs. night. 12. Mail vs. male. 13. Meddle vs. metal. 14. Pail vs. pale. 15. Rain vs. reign vs. rein. 16. Right vs. write. 17. Scene vs. seen. 18. Sea vs. see. 19. Tail vs. tale. 20. To vs. too vs. two.

It is important to pay attention to the context in whch these words are used, as their meanings can vary greatly. By being aware of these homophones, writers and speakers can avoid confusion and ensure their message is clear and effective.

Teaching Kids Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have differnt meanings and spellings. They can be tricky for kids to understand and differentiate, but teaching them can help improve their spelling, reading, and writing skills. Here are some common homophones that you can teach kids:

1. there, their, they're 2. to, too, two 3. your, you're 4. its, it's 5. hear, here 6. sea, see 7. bare, bear 8. flower, flour 9. sun, son 10. break, brake

To make it easier for kids to remember, you can create fun exercises and activities that involve using homophones in sentences or asking them to identify the correct homophone in a sentence. Additionally, you can incorporate games and quizzes to make learning homophones more engaging and interactive. By teaching homophones to kids, you are helping them improve their language skills and become better communicators.

Examples of Homonyms

Homonyms are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Here are 200 examples of homonyms:

1. accept – take in 2. except – other than 3. affect – influence 4. effect – result 5. aisle – walkway 6. isle – island 7. aloud – out loud 8. allowed – permitted 9. bare – uncovered 10. bear – animal 11. brake – stop 12. break – shatter 13. buy – purchase 14. bye – farewell 15. cell – phone 16. sell – exchange for money 17. cent – coin 18. scent – odor 19. sent – delivered 20. cereal – breakfast food 21. serial – in a series 22. coarse – rough 23. course – path 24. complement – complete 25. compliment – praise 26. council – governing body 27. counsel – advice 28. desert – dry land 29. dessert – sweet after-dinner course 30. die – cease to live 31. dye – color 32. duel – fight 33. dual – two 34. fair – just 35. fare – price of transportation 36. feat – accomplishment 37. feet – body part 38. find – discover 39. fined – penalized 40. flour – powdery, ground up grain 41. flower – blooming plant 42. foreword – introduction to a book 43. forward – ahead 44. foul – dirty 45. fowl – bird 46. gene – genetic material 47. jean – type of fabric 48. grate – shred 49. great – fantastic 50. groan – sound of pain 51. grown – matured 52. hair – strands on head 53. hare – animal 54. heal – recover 55. heel – back of foot 56. hear – listen 57. here – in this place 58. hole – opening 59. whole – complete 60. hour – 60 minutes 61. our – belonging to us 62. knight – medieval warrior 63. night – time of darkness 64. knew – past tense of know 65. new – not old 66. knot – tie 67. not – opposite of yes 68. know – understand 69. no – opposite of yes 70. mail – post 71. male – man 72. meat – food from animals 73. meet – come together 74. medal – award 75. meddle – interfere 76. missed – past tense of miss 77. mist – fog 78. morning – time of day 79. mourning – grieving 80. muscle – tissue in body 81. mussel – shellfish 82. naval – relating to navy 83. navel – belly button 84. none – not any 85. nun – religious woman 86. one – the number 1 87. won – past tense of win 88. pair – two of something 89. pare – trim 90. pear – fruit 91. peace – absence of conflict 92. piece – part 93. plain – simple 94. plane – aircraft 95. principal – head of school 96. principle – rule 97. profit – financial gain 98. prophet – religious figure 99. rain – precipitation 100. reign – rule of a monarch 101. raise – lift up 102. rays – beams of light 103. right – correct 104. write – put words on paper 105. road – path for vehicles 106. rode – past tense of ride 107. root – part of plant 108. route – path 109. sail – boat's cloth 110. sale – discounts 111. scene – setting 112. seen – past participle of see 113. sea – large body of salt water 114. seam – line of stitching 115. seem – appear 116. sew – stitch 117. so – to such an extent 118. sewn – past participle of sew 119. sown – past participle of sow 120. sole – only 121. soul – spirit 122. son – male child 123. sun – star 124. stair – step 125. stare – gaze 126. stationary – not moving 127. stationery – writing materials 128. steal – take without permission 129. steel – metal 130. suite – group of rooms 131. sweet – sugary 132. tail – end of animal 133. tale – story 134. their – belonging to them 135. thee – in that place 136. they're – they are 137. threw – past tense of throw 138. through – by means of 139. to – toward 140. too – also 141. two – the number 2 142. waist – part of body 143. waste – garbage 144. wait – stay in place 145. weight – measure of heaviness 146. weak – not strong 147. week – 7 days 148. weather – climate conditions 149. whether – if 150. wear – put on clothing 151. where – in what place 152. which – what one 153. witch – magical person 154. who's – who is 155. whose – belonging to whom 156. wood – material from trees 157. would – past tense of will 158. your – belonging to you 159. you're – you are 160. allowed – permitted 161. aloud – out loud 162. bare – uncovered 163. bear – animal 164. brake – stop 165. break – shatter 166. buy – purchase 167. bye – farewell 168. cell – phone 169. sell – exchange for money 170. cent – coin 171. scent – odor 172. sent – delivered 173. cereal – breakfast food 174. serial – in a series 175. coarse – rough 176. course – path 177. complement – complete 178. compliment – praise 179. council – governing body 180. counsel – advice 181. desert – dry land 182. dessert – sweet after-dinner course 183. die – cease to live 184. dye – color 185. duel – fight 186. dual – two 187. fair – just 188. fare – price of transportation 189. feat – accomplishment 190. feet – body part 191. find – discover 192. fined – penalized 193. flour – powdery, ground up grain 194. flower – blooming plant 195. foreword – introduction to a book 196. forward – ahead 197. foul – dirty 198. fowl – bird 199. gene – genetic material 200. jean – type of fabric.

Fifty Examples of Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same when pronounced, but have different meanings and spellings. They are often the cause of confusion in writing and speech, especially for non-native English speakers. Here are 50 examples of homophones with their meanings and examples:

1. Aunt (noun) or Aren't (contraction) – My aunt is coming over for dinner. Aren't you excited to see her? 2. Ate (verb) or Eight (noun) – I ate a sandwich for lunch. The party starts at eight o'clock. 3. Air (noun) or Heir (noun) – The air smells fresh after the rain. He is the heir to the throne. 4. Board (noun) or Bored (adjective) – The board is meeting today. I'm so bored in this class. 5. Buy (verb) or By (preposition) or Bye (exclamation) – I want to buy a new car. We'll be passing by your house later. Bye, see you later! 6. Brake (noun, verb) or Break (noun, verb) – Step on the brake to stop the car. I need a break from work. 7. Cell (noun) or Sell (verb) – I left my phone in the cell. He wants to sell his car. 8. Fair (adjective, noun) or Fare (noun) – The fair price for the item is $10. The train fare is $5. 9. Flour (noun) or Flower (noun) – I need flour to make bread. She loves to pick flowers in the garden. 10. Hair (noun) or Hare (noun) – She has long hair. The hare ran quickly through the field. 11. Here (adverb) or Hear (verb) – I am here to help you. Can you hear me now? 12. Hole (noun) or Whole (adjective) – There's a hole in my shoe. The whole world is watching. 13. Hour (noun) or Our (pronoun) – The meeting is in one hour. Our team won the game. 14. Knight (noun) or Night (noun) – He was knighted by the queen. I love to stargaze at night. 15. Know (verb) or No (adverb) – I know the answer to the question. I don't want any dessert. 16. Mail (noun, verb) or Male (adjective, noun) – I received mail from my friend. He is a male doctor. 17. Meat (noun) or Meet (verb) – I like to eat meat. Let's meet at the park. 18. Pair (noun) or Pear (noun) – I bought a pair of shoes. She loves to eat pears. 19. Peace (noun) or Piece (noun) – I hope to find peace in my life. Can I have a piece of cake? 20. Plain (adjective, noun) or Plane (noun) – The landscape is so plain. I'm flying on a plane tomorrow. 21. Rain (noun, verb) or Reign (verb, noun) – It's raining outside. The king will reign for many years. 22. Right (adjective, noun, adverb) or Write (verb) – You're right, I made a mistake. I need to write a letter. 23. Sea (noun) or See (verb) – I love to swim in the sea. Can you see the bird in the tree? 24. Sea (adjective) or She (pronoun) – The sea is rough today. She is my best friend. 25. Sew (verb) or So (adverb) – I need to sew this button back on. I am so tired. 26. Son (noun) or Sun (noun) – He is my son. The sun is shining brightly today. 27. Tail (noun) or Tale (noun) – The cat has a long tail. She loves to read fairy tales. 28. Tea (noun) or Tee (noun) – I want to have a cup of tea. He's wearing a green tee shirt. 29. Threw (verb) or Through (preposition) – He threw the ball to me. We walked through the park. 30. To (preposition) or Two (number) or Too (adverb) – I'm going to the store. We have two dogs. It's too hot outside. 31. Waist (noun) or Waste (verb, noun) – She has a small waist. Don't waste your time. 32. Wait (verb) or Weight (noun) – I'll wait for you here. What's your weight? 33. Weak (adjective) or Week (noun) – I feel weak today. We're going on vacation next week. 34. Wear (verb) or Where (adverb) – What should I wear to the party? Where is the nearest store? 35. Weather (noun) or Whether (conjunction) – The weather is nice today. I don't know whether to go or not. 36. Which (pronoun) or Witch (noun) – Which one do you want? She dressed up as a witch for Halloween. 37. Who's (contraction) or Whose (pronoun) – Who's coming with us? Whose car is this? 38. Won (verb) or One (number) – I won the race. I have one apple left. 39. Wood (noun) or Would (verb) – The table is made of wood. Would you like some tea? 40. Your (pronoun) or You're (contraction) – Your hat is cute. You're very kind. 41. Allowed (verb) or Aloud (adverb) – I'm allowed to go to the party. Please read the poem aloud. 42. Altar (noun) or Alter (verb) – They got married at the altar. He wants to alter the design. 43. Bare (adjective) or Bear (verb, noun) – He is barefoot. Can you bear the weight of this box? 44. Bow (noun, verb) or Bough (noun) – She tied a bow on her present. The bough of the tree broke in the wind. 45. Cite (verb) or Sight (noun) – Can you cite the source for that information? The view is a beautiful sight. 46. Complement (noun, verb) or Compliment (noun, verb) – The red wine complements the steak. He gave her a compliment on her dress. 47. Desert (noun, verb) or Dessert (noun) – The Sahara desert is very hot. I want some dessert after dinner. 48. Device (noun) or Devise (verb) – He invented a new device. She had to devise a plan. 49. Dual (adjective) or Duel (noun, verb) – The car has dual airbags. They had a duel over the love of a woman. 50. Flu (noun) or Flew (verb) – I have the flu. The bird flew away.

The Most Common Homophone

Homophones are words that sound the same but have dfferent meanings and spellings. The English language has a plethora of homophones, making it easy for people to get confused and misuse them in their writing and speech. Among the various homophones, the most common one is “there/their/they're.”

‘There' refers to a place, position, or location, as in “I left my keys over there.”

‘Their' is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership, as in “Their new car is parked outside.”

‘They're' is a contraction of ‘they are,' as in “They're going to the movies tonight.”

These words are often used interchangeably, leading to confusion and errors in writing and speech. Therefore, it is essential to understand the difference between them and use them correctly to avoid misunderstandings.

Rare Homophones

Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings. While there are many common homophones, such as “there,” “their,” and “they're,” there are also some rare homophones that are not as well-known. Here are some examples of rare homophones:

1. You and ewe: “You” is a pronoun used to refer to a person, while “ewe” is a female sheep.

2. Great and grate: “Great” means large or excellent, while “grate” refers to a metal frame used for holding coal or wood in a fireplace.

3. Aural and oral: “Aural” means rlated to the ear or hearing, while “oral” refers to spoken language or the mouth.

4. Queue and cue: “Queue” means a line of people waiting for something, while “cue” refers to a signal for someone to do something.

5. Metal and mettle: “Metal” is a material such as iron or steel, while “mettle” refers to a person's ability to cope with difficulties.

6. Seed and cede: “Seed” is a small, hard object produced by plants that can grow into a new plant, while “cede” means to give up or surrender something.

7. Few and phew: “Few” means a small number of something, while “phew” is an expression used to show relief or surprise.

8. Minor and miner: “Minor” means something that is less important or serious, while “miner” refers to someone who works in a mine.

Remember that homophones can be tricky, and using the wrong one can lead to confusion or misunderstanding. By understanding these rare homophones, you can communicate more effectively and avoid common mistakes.

Understanding Homophones for Grade 2 Kids

Homophones are a type of words that sound similar but have different meanings and spellings. For Grade 2 kids, it is important to learn about homophones because they help in developing language skills and vocabulary. Some examples of homophones that are easy to understand for Grade 2 kids are:

1. To, too, and two – “To” is used to indicate direction or movement, as in “I am goig to the park.” – “Too” means also or in addition, as in “I want to come too.” – “Two” is a number, as in “I have two cats.”

2. See and sea – “See” is used to describe the action of looking at something, as in “I can see the bird in the tree.” – “Sea” refers to the large body of saltwater, as in “I love swimming in the sea.”

3. Sun and son – “Sun” is the star that provides light and heat to the earth, as in “The sun is shining.” – “Son” is a male child, as in “My son is six years old.”

4. Hair and hare – “Hair” refers to the strands that grow on the head, as in “She has long hair.” – “Hare” is a type of rabbit, as in “I saw a hare in the garden.”

It is important for Grade 2 kids to understand the difference between homophones to improve their reading and writing skills. Teachers and parents can use games, activities, and worksheets to help kids learn and remember these words.

Understanding Homophones for Kindergarteners

Homophones are an important concept for kindergarten students to learn as they begin to develop their reading and writing skills. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. For example, the words “to,” “too,” and “two” are homophones because they are pronounced the same, but have different meanings and spellings.

Teaching homophones to kindergarteners can help them improve their phonemic awareness, which is the ability to recognize and manipulate individual sounds in words. It can also help them expand their vocabulary and improve their spelling skills.

One effective way to teach homophones to kindergarteners is through games and activities. For example, you cold play a matching game where students match homophones by their pictures or definitions. You could also read stories that feature homophones and have students identify them as they hear them.

It's important to introduce homophones gradually and reinforce them frequently to help kindergarteners fully understand and remember them. By teaching homophones in a fun and engaging way, kindergarteners can develop a strong foundation for their reading and writing skills.

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. They can often be confusing, especially for non-native English speakers. However, mastering homophones is an essential skill for effective communication in English. It is important to pay attention to context and spelling to ensure that the correct homophone is used in any given situation. Using homophones correctly can help to avoid misunderstandings and improve overall clarity in written and spoken communication. By familiarizing oneself with common homophones and practicing their use, one can become a more confident and effective communicator in English.

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cruise homophones meaning

Understanding Homophones (Examples, Meaning, Words List)

homophones

Homophones are two words that sound alike, though hold different meanings. The best example of this are the words “to” and “too.” With the additional “o” letter, the meaning of the word changes entirely.

Let’s learn more about homophones and how they get used in English in this worksheet. ..

What are homophones?

A term that has the same pronunciation as another word but a different meaning is called a homophone. A homophone’s spelling can also vary. The spelling of the two words can be the same, as in rose and rose, or different, as in caret, carat, and carrot.

The term “homophone” can also refer to units that are longer or shorter than words, such as phrases, letters, or groups of letters that have the same pronunciation as another phrase, letter, or group of letters. It is said that any unit with this feature is homophonous.

Homophones

Homophone, homograph, and homonym

Homophones, homographs and homonyms are difficult to differentiate but can get recognized easily. Homophones are words that sound same but have different meanings. A group of words with the same spelling but different meanings and typically different pronunciations are called homographs.

On the other hand, a homonym is a word or a set of words that have the same pronunciation and spelling but different meanings.

Choosing the right word or spelling to express the right idea might be difficult in light of all of this. The fact that all homonyms are homophones since they have the same pronunciation raises the possibility of mistake.

The words read in the sentences “He is well read” and “I read that book” are homophones with the same spelling, and they can also be homonyms and homographs. Not all homophones are homonyms since not all homophones have the same spelling. Heterographs are homophones that have distinct spellings, such as to, too, and two.

Understanding a homophone

Pseudo-homophones

Pseudo-homophones are made-up words that sound exactly like real words.

In contrast to the pseudo-homophone pairs groan/grone and crane/crain, plane/plain is a homophone pair because both letter combinations are recognized nouns .

In lexical decision tasks, both kinds of pairs are employed to research word recognition.

Understanding a homophone

The word “homophone” comes from the Greek words homo-, “same,” and phn, “voice, speech.”

Where are homophones used?

While homophones can get found in every day English, they can also get found in these places:

Word games and play

Homophones are frequently employed to make jokes, trick the reader, or imply several meanings. Poems and other works of creative writing frequently use the final tenses .

This is demonstrated in the phrase “The stores in mourning” from Dylan Thomas’ radio play Under Milk Wood , when sorrow might be heard as either dawn or morning.

Another vivid example is Thomas Hood’s use of birth and berth as well as told and toll’d in his poem “Faithless Sally Brown.”

Use as ambiguous information for psychological research

In studies of anxiety, homophones—more specifically, heterographs, where one spelling is scary and the other is not—have been used to test cognitive theories. High anxiety people have a propensity to view ambiguous information as threatening. It is crucial to master a language fluently since young children find it difficult to understand the distinction.

We seldom make a mistake with understanding homophones while we are having a conversation because the listener understands the context. While writing, the errors become distinguishable.

Words that differ only by those sounds in an accent that preserves the distinction are homophonous in the accent with the merger because different sounds have merged in some accents and are no longer distinguishable.

Here are a few English examples:

In most American accents, pin and pen are pronounced same just like by and buy, merry, marry, and Mary.

In most American accents, the words do and due, as well as forward and foreword, sound alike, but not in most English accents.

While the words court and captured, as well as speak and torque, are distinct in most American English dialects and rhotic accents like Scottish English, they are homophones in some non-rhotic accents like British Received Pronunciation.

Wordplay is particularly prevalent in English because, compared to other languages, it is far more difficult to pronounce, spell, and understand due to the diversity of linguistic influences.

Malapropisms, which often create a similar comic effect , are usually near-homophones. An eggcorn is a word or phrase used by mistake because it is homophone or is similar sounding to the original word or phrase. A very common mistake, they can however alter the meaning altogether.

Examples “another thing coming” replaced with “another think coming” or “that’s a moot point” with “that’s a mute point”. Some the common words replaced are tea(drink) with tee(golf ball support), shore(coastline) with sure(certainty).

Same-sounding phrases

In several word games, similar-sounding phrases are frequently employed. Similar-sounding phrases include, for instance:

  • ice cream vs. I scream
  • euthanasia vs. Youth in Asia
  • depend vs. deep end
  • Gemini vs. gem in eye vs. Jim and I
  • the sky vs. this guy
  • four candles vs. fork handles
  • sand which is there vs. sandwiches there
  • philanderers vs. Flanders
  • example vs. egg sample
  • some others vs. some mothers vs. smothers

In his Appalachian comedy routine, American comedian Jeff Foxworthy regularly employs similar-sounding lines that play on exaggerated “country” accents. Examples worth mentioning are:

  • Initiate vs. and then she ate: “My wife ate two sandwiches, initiate a bag o’ tater chips.”
  • Mayonnaise vs. Man, there is: “Mayonnaise a lot of people here tonight.”
  • Innuendo vs. in your window: “Hey dude I saw a bird fly innuendo.”
  • Mustache vs. must ask: “I mustache you a question.”

In the 1980s, the term “ oronyms ” was used in an effort to promote a distinguishing term for multiple words or phrases with the same sound, but since the term was already well established in linguistics as an onomastic designation for a class of toponymic features, the alternative use of the term was not well received in academic literature.

Homophone Examples

While homophones are the most confusing, with time one can master the intricacies of the language. Some of the common examples are

  • Altar-Alter
  • Write — Right
  • Break-Brake
  • Cereal-Serial
  • Council-Counsel
  • Father —Further
  • Side — Sighed
  • Soar — Sore
  • Stare — Stair
  • Stationary — Stationery
  • Steal — Steel
  • Cite — Site
  • Cellar-Seller
  • You’re-Your

Understanding homophones and homonyms

While slightly tricky to differentiate, homophones and homonyms are distinct in characteristics. Both are derived from a combined form homo-meaning “one of the same, similar alike”, while they have different roots.

Homophone comes from the greek root phōnos (meaning “sounding”); while homonym comes from onyma (meaning “name”). A little tongue twister to understand it all simply is that “all homophones are not homonyms while all homonyms are homophones”. 

Homophones are words that sound the same but differ in spelling, meaning, or etymology. These words can be spelled differently from one another (like to, too, and two).

Example “his grandfather died of natural cause” and “she got her shirt dyed in multi-color”, “let’s paint the town red” and “I think I have read this book”, “take a right turn” and “you are absolutely right”.

Homonyms can be homophones or homographs . Some people however consider homonyms to be words that are only spelled and pronounced alike but have different meaning based on the usage or context.

Example being “take a bow” and “the bow that shoots arrows”.

Homophone examples for 3rd grade students

Homophone examples for 2nd grade students, homophone example list – words, meanings, examples (a-z), homophone activities for students.

There are many interactive activities that can be designed to keep kids focused and learn homophones. Some of them are-

Game of Charades

In order to ensure that kids are reading and acting out the words correctly, this game will require several players, including one adult to serve as the moderator.

Things required:

  • Paper Slips
  • Bag, box, bowl
  • Homophone list visible to all players on a board, poster, or big piece of paper

On pieces of paper, jot down a number of homophones. Write the identical list of homophones in plain sight of each player on the board or on a poster. This will act as a reference guide to make the game more clear and ensure that players who are guessing the word are guessing the right spellings. The slips are folded and combined in the container.

Permit the kids to take turns selecting words from the jar and acting them out as best they can. To make sure the child knows the homophone’s correct meaning, read the word yourself. You can decide whether to allow a one- or two-word tip because some terms might be more ambiguous.

The guessers are required to raise their hands, guess the word, and identify the word on the lengthy reference list. Try to give each youngster a chance to take the role of the words.

Guess Hedbanz

Children collaborate to match the correct spellings to images that represent various homophones in this homophone matching activity. As preventing the kids from seeing their own phrase or picture adds an additional obstacle, it is intended to be played similarly to the party game Hedbanz .

You can take off the headbands and only provide the word or picture cards to younger readers who might have trouble understanding the concept. They will be able to see their own phrase or image and quickly locate the youngster who matches it, eliminating any potential confusion in the game’s cooperative elements.

  • Homophone picture cards and word cards that are printed headbands made from paper strips

Tape or a stapler

Print the phrase and picture cards, then staple or tape them to paper strips to create the headbands. Give a headband to each kid.

They will have to work together because they are unable to see what is on their own headband. The kids wearing headbands with words will have to explain to the kids wearing headbands with pictures what their pictures are.

The kids who have pictures on their headbands will also need to read the words on the other headbands and provide the relevant context for the sentences. To find the match to their word or picture, all the kids will have to cooperate.

Treasure Hunt

You will just need to do a quick preparation for this homophone student activity while the kids are out of the room, but after it is ready, it can be left and completed as a large group, small group, or individual activity.

  • Homophone picture cards printed
  • A piece of paper or a notebook with space for kids to write homophone terms

The homophone picture cards should be printed and numbered. If you want to check the kids’ work after the exercise, you might want to keep a master record of the words and their accompanying numbers. Cut them out and scatter them around the room in obvious locations.

To the quantity of homophones you’ve buried across the room, have the kids add their papers. Allow them to search for photographs by having them explore the space together or in smaller groups. They have to write the word with the proper spelling next to the matching number on their notepad whenever they come across an image of a homophone.

Homophone Puzzle

You can create crossword puzzle games with words that correspond with the answers to interesting facts. They can be asked to fill in various homophone pairs for each letter of the alphabet. This is a fantastic method to get your pupils to consider all of the many homophones in-depth! 

Giving your students access to a dictionary could be a good idea, and you could set a fun task for them to discover some odd homophones. 

Then, students can share with one another the most bizarre homophones they have discovered for various alphabet letters.

Simple quizzes like the one below can also be a great way to practice and learn.

Test your comprehension skills by choosing the correct homophone in the examples given below!

  • Would you like to ______ what I have to say. hear here
  • When I was young, I ______ all of the Harry Potter books. red read
  • Let’s go shopping! I want to ______ something new to the weekend party. wear Where
  • Look ______ the window – you will be able to gaze at the stars! through threw
  • I saw your laptop over ______. there their
  • I have ______ dogs and one cat at home. four for
  • Our teacher said we should ask for her______ when things get difficult. advice advise
  • This was the last ______ of the pie? peace piece
  • Chocolate is better  ______ vegetables any day.   than then
  • Online learning is off _________ similar to classroom experience. coarse course
  • Studying in ______ silence helps people focus better. moot mute

Homophones are pretty easy to understand. Teachers should assess the intellect and capability of students before including them in a game. Students in different grades can be introduced to this concept.

Make sure things remain playful and not forceful feeding at your end.

Generally, kids find the exercise interesting and enjoyable.

A great way to build vocabulary and spellings, these confusing words will no longer be difficult to comprehend with practice.

  • “Homophones and its types” http://promptproofing.com/eggcorns-and-homophones/
  • “Difference between homophones and homonyms simplified” https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/homophones-vs-homographs-vs-homonyms
  • “Find out about your comprehension skills” https://www.english.com/blog/english-homophone-quiz/
  • “Interesting quizzes and assignments” https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/grip-grammar-homophones-11/
  • “Comprehensive info on homophones” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone
  • “Learning the difference between homophones and homonyms” https://www.diffen.com/difference/Homonym_vs_Homophone
  • “Homophone activities to sharpen your mind” https://vivaphonics.com/games-and-activities-for-teaching-homophones/
  • “Comprehensive list of homophones” https://onlymyenglish.com/list-of-homophones/
  • “Top guide to homophones” https://englishwithmila.com/homophones-with-examples/ “
  • “An exhaustive list of homophones” https://7esl.com/homophones/

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cruise homophones meaning

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cruise homophones meaning

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

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cruise homophones meaning

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What are homophones?

Do want to learn more about the american english sounds? You’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we discuss everything you need to know, starting with the basics.

What is English Homophones words?

English homophone examples with short vowels, english homophone examples with diphthong vowels.

A homophone is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word but has different spelling and meaning

A homophone is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word but has different spelling and meaning. For example, ‘one’ and ‘won’ are pronounced the same (/wʌn/ in the IPA) but the have different spelling and different meanings.

  • be – bee /biː/
  • key – quay /kiː/
  • sea – see /siː/
  • seas– sees – seize /siːz/
  • seam – seem /siːm/
  • beat – beet /biːt/
  • bean – been /biːn/
  • feet – feat /fi:t/
  • meat – meet /miːt/
  • creak – creek /kriːk/
  • weak – week /wiːk/
  • peak – peek /pi:k/
  • read – reed /riːd/
  • steal – steel /stiːl/
  • heal – heel /hi:l/
  • scene – seen /siːn/
  • teas – tease /tiːz/
  • piece – peace /piːs/
  • ceiling -sealing /ˈsiː.lɪŋ/
  • sweet – suite /swiːt/
  • genes – jeans /dʒiːnz/
  • cereal – serial /ˈsi:.ri.jəl/
  • awe – oar – or /ɔː/
  • your – you’re /jɔː/
  • for – four /fɔː/
  • saw – sore – soar /sɔː/
  • paw – pour – poor /pɔː/
  • shore – sure /ʃɔː/
  • raw – roar /rɔː/
  • bored – board /bɔːd/
  • sort – sought /sɔːt/
  • caught – court /kɔːt/
  • hall – haul /hɔːl/
  • sauce – source /sɔːs/
  • horse – hoarse /hɔːs/
  • pause – paws /pɔːz/
  • morning-mourning /ˈmɔː.nɪŋ/
  • to – too – two /tuː/
  • you – U – ewe /juː/
  • cue – queue /kju:/
  • threw – through /θruː/
  • knew – new /njuː/
  • flew – flu /fluː/
  • blew – blue /bluː/
  • chews – choose /tʃuːz/
  • crews – cruise /kruːz/
  • root – route (UK Aus) /ruːt/
  • moose–mousse /muːs/
  • heard – herd /hɜːd/
  • passed – past /pɑːst/
  • aren’t–aunt (UK Aus) /ɑːnt/
  • draft – draught /dra:ft/
  • ate – eight /eɪt/
  • way – weigh – whey /weɪ/
  • pray – prey /preɪ/
  • wait – weight /weɪt/
  • waist – waste /weɪst/
  • great – grate /greɪt/
  • made – maid /meɪd/
  • break – brake /breɪk/
  • steak – stake /steɪk/
  • rain – reign /reɪn/
  • plain – plane /pleɪn/
  • vein – vain – vane /veɪn/
  • pain – pane /peɪn/
  • base – bass /beɪs/
  • phase – faze /feɪz/
  • raise – rays /reɪz/
  • faint – feint /feɪnt/
  • sail – sale /seɪl/
  • mail – male /meɪl/
  • tail – tale /teɪl/
  • bail – bale /beɪl/
  • wail – whale /weɪl/
  • die – dye /daɪ/
  • high – hi /haɪ/
  • buy – by – bye /baɪ/
  • bite – byte – bight /baɪt/
  • night – knight /naɪt/
  • right – write /raɪt/
  • sight – site /saɪt/
  • tide – tied /taɪd/
  • side – sighed /saɪd/
  • mind – mined /maɪnd/
  • find – fined /faɪnd/
  • I’ll – aisle – isle /aɪl/
  • idle – idol /ˈaɪ.dəl/
  • higher – hire /ˈhaɪ.jə/
  • bow (v) – bough /baʊ/
  • foul – fowl /faʊl/
  • allowed – aloud /əˈlaʊd/
  • flower – flour /ˈflaʊ.wə/
  • know – no /noʊ/
  • toe – tow /toʊ/
  • so – sow (verb) – sew /soʊ/
  • soul – sole /soʊl/
  • rose – rows /roʊz/
  • knows – nose /noʊz/
  • roll – role /roʊl/
  • whole – hole /hoʊl/
  • holy – wholly – holy /ˈhoʊ.li/
  • loan – lone /loʊn/
  • thrown – throne /θroʊn/
  • road – rode /roʊd/
  • wrote – rote /roʊt/
  • grown – groan /groʊn/
  • air – heir /eə/
  • pair – pear /peər/
  • hair – hare /heə/
  • fair – fare /feə/
  • stair – stare /steə/
  • bare -bear /beə/
  • there – they’re – their /ðeə/
  • where – we’re – wear /weə/
  • mare – mayor /meə/
  • hear – here /hɪə/
  • tear (n) – tier /tɪə/
  • dear – deer /dɪə/
  • boy – buoy /bɔɪ/

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cruise homophones meaning

Rules and Usage – Homonyms

Homonyms (also called homophones) are words that sound like one another but have different meanings and sometimes slightly different spellings. Some homonyms, however, are spelled the same, like fast (to abstain) and fast (quick, speedy).  Some homonyms are spelled differently, like pear (the fruit) and pair (a couple/two)

homonyms, homographs and homophones

Homonyms (also called homophones) are words that sound like one another but have different meanings and sometimes slightly different spellings. Some homonyms however are spelled the same

A PAIR OF PEARS

Homonyms have become the catch-all terms to cover not only homonyms, but their close cousins, homographs and homophones.

The 3 terms –  homophone, homograph, and homonym —refer to words that have the same pronunciation, or they have the same spelling (or both) but they differ in their meaning

Homophones – homo=same, phone = sound.  These are different words, sometimes spelled alike, that sound the same. Bear and bear;  pair and pear.

Homographs – homo=same, graph=writing – are words that although they may be spelled the same, have different meanings and may or may not be pronounced the same way.  For example, compact: a small item, compact: a make-up holder –  Spelled the same, pronounced the same.  Wound – as in an injury and also referring to something which is turned – is spelled the same, but pronounced differently.

Homonyms – homo=same nyms=names – means homophones or a name for words that are both homophones and homographs —alike in both spelling and pronunciation

However, homonyms have come to mean all three of these terms, and we understand homonyms to be words that sound the same, are spelled the same, or both.

some common homonyms 

ad – add allowed-aloud ant-aunt ate-eight ball-bawl band-banned bear-bare be-bee billed-build blew-blue board-bored boy-buoy bye-buy beach-beech bread-bred capital-capitol caret-carrot cell-sell cent-scent-sent chews-choose creak-creek crews-cruise cymbal-symbol days-daze dear-deer discreet-discrete discussed-disgust ewe-you eye-I fare-fair flower-flour foul-fowl grate-great hare-hair him-hymn hair-hare hoarse-horse hole-whole hour-our idle-idol idle-idol-idyl in-inn incite-insight its-it’s jam-jamb jeans-genes knead-need-kneed knight-night knows-nose-no’s lead-led leased/least lessen-lesson lie-lye links-lynx

 Homonyms have come to mean all three of these terms, and we understand homonyms to be a words that sound the same, are spelled the same, or both.

Homonyms: Definition and Words

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  • English Grammar

Homophones - Definition, Usage and Examples

English has always been a language that interests its learners and users in many ways. It is also a language that is continuously evolving. Almost every day, a new word is added to the wide range of vocabulary. Homophones are one of the various interesting factors of the language. In this article, you will learn all that you need to know about homophones, their meaning, definition and how to use them, along with examples of homophone pairs and their meanings.

Table of Contents

What are homophones – meaning and definition, usage of homophones in sentences – points to remember, difference between homophones, homographs and homonyms, list of homophone pairs with their meanings – examples.

  • Check Your Understanding on Homophones

Frequently Asked Questions on Homophones in English

Homophones are words that sound similar to another word but have different spellings and meanings. Understanding homophones can help you in building your vocabulary. Only if you learn the spellings and meanings of the homophones will you be able to use them correctly.

Now, let us look at some of the definitions given by different dictionaries to understand what homophones are. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, a homophone is defined as “ a word that is pronounced like another word but has a different spelling or meaning.” The Cambridge Dictionary gives a similar definition. According to them, a homophone is “a word that is pronounced the same as another word but has a different meaning or spelling, or both.”

A homophone, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling.” The Collins Dictionary defines homophones as “words with different meanings which are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently.”

Homophones, as already mentioned, have similar sounds but different spellings and meanings. So it is necessary that you understand and learn the difference between the homophone pairs. One way to remember them is by associating them with their functions and analysing which part of speech a particular word in the pair belongs to. However you choose to remember it, only continuous usage of these words in sentences will help you understand how they work.

Let us take a look at the differences between homophones, homographs and homonyms.

To help you analyse and understand homophones and their use, here is a table with the homophone pairs, their meanings and sentence examples to help you out.

Check Your Understanding of Homophones

Fill in the blanks by choosing the right homophone from the homophone pairs given in brackets in the following sentences.

1. We saw a _______ (bear/bare) on our way to Ooty.

2. This cupboard is made of _________. (steal/steel)

3. The ________ (soul/sole) purpose of this visit was to resolve the issues between us.

4. I ________ (sell/cell) second-hand cars for a living.

5. We booked the upper ________ (berth/birth) for our trip.

6. Did you ________ (caste/cast) your votes?

7. Can you please give us a _______ (brake/break)?

8. Does the class have a smart _________ (bored/board)?

9. Do you have the ________ (flour/flower) to make cookies?

10. Everyday, my sister wakes up at ________ (eight/ate) in the morning.

Check out if you chose the right homophone to fill in the blanks from the answers given below.

1. We saw a bear on our way to Ooty.

2. This cupboard is made of steel.

3. The sole purpose of this visit was to resolve the issues between us.

4. I sell second-hand cars for a living.

5. We booked the upper berth for our trip.

6. Did you cast your votes?

7. Can you please give us a break ?

8. Does the class have a smart board ?

9. Do you have the flour to make cookies?

10. Everyday, my sister wakes up at eight in the morning.

What are homophones?

Homophones are words that sound similar to another word but have different spellings and meanings.

What is the definition of a homophone?

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, a homophone is defined as “ a word that is pronounced like another word but has a different spelling or meaning.” The Cambridge Dictionary gives a similar definition. According to them, a homophone is “a word that is pronounced the same as another word but has a different meaning or spelling, or both.” A homophone, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling.” The Collins Dictionary defines homophones as “words with different meanings which are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently.”

What is the difference between a homophone and a homonym?

The main difference between a homophone and a homonym is that a homophone is a word that has the same phonetic sound as another word but has different meanings and functions, whereas, a homonym is a word that has the same spellings or pronunciation but has different functions and meanings.

Give some examples of homophones.

Here are a few examples of homophone pairs used in sentences for your reference.

  • The birth of their second son changed their lives forever.
  • As far as I am concerned, the lower berths in trains are comfortable for long journeys.
  • Nobody knows who was the next heir to the throne.
  • Your hair looks great today.
  • Not many people have a cell phone of their own.
  • What do you sell ?
  • She did not know what to do with all the fruits they brought.
  • Do you know how to tie a knot ?
  • I wish I could sit by the sea through the night.
  • Did you see the bride? She was absolutely beautiful.

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cruise homophones meaning

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A cruise full of people born on leap day? ‘Leaplings’ mark their day.

‘these are my people,’ said jason bohn, who is on a birthday cruise in the bahamas with about 70 other people born on feb. 29.

cruise homophones meaning

Do people born on leap day age like mere mortals? Many will tell you no.

The patience it takes to wait four years between proper birthdays keeps them young.

“These are my people,” said Jason Bohn, who is on a birthday cruise in the Bahamas with about 70 other people born on Feb. 29. Bohn, who lives just outside Milwaukee, is turning 44 — or 11 in leap years.

Bohn found his fellow leaplings — as they often call themselves — on Facebook a handful of years ago. They bonded online and decided to plan a meetup for their birthdays.

They agreed on a cruise, which is how 78 leaplings ended up together on a four-night trip to the Bahamas in February 2020. They ranged in age from 4 to about 80 and came from 33 states and 10 countries.

“It was absolutely phenomenal,” Bohn said. “I had never met anyone that was born on a leap year until that cruise.”

It was so great, they did it again four years later.

A leap year comes every four years when February has an extra day, which is a correction because Earth takes a little bit longer than 365 days a year to orbit the sun.

What is a leap day? All about Feb. 29, on the calendar every 4 years.

About 5 million people across the world currently were born on a leap day. For many of them, Feb. 29 is a day to pull out the stops.

Beth Oelkers will be partying in New York with other leaplings. It’s actually her 15th birthday and eighth wedding anniversary — if you don’t count all the years in between.

“We decided, for some odd reason, to also get married on February 29,” said Oelkers, 59, who was born Feb. 29, 1964, and got married on the same day in 1992.

“My husband’s favorite line to use when people ask him something unique about himself is that he married his wife on her seventh birthday, legally,” she said.

The couple, who live in Phoenix and have two grown children, will generally take an adventurous trip or have a big celebration on the day.

“Especially because it’s our anniversary, we do something really fun every year,” Oelkers said.

Myra Manley Walker has big plans for her birthday this year, too. She’s celebrating her Sweet 16, at age 64.

Teen risked her life to rescue disabled woman stuck on railroad tracks

“I am going out to dinner with a bunch of my friends and family,” said Manley Walker, who lives in Hillsboro, Ga. “When I actually turned 16, my mother made me go to the opera and I was so mad. This is going to be a good one; nobody is going to make me do what I don’t want to do.”

It will be a bittersweet birthday, though, as Manley Walker lost her oldest sister to cancer shortly before the last leap day. Her sister, Molly, was born Feb. 26, and on non-leap years, they would celebrate their birthdays together.

“She was everything,” Manley Walker said of her sister. “She always took care of me.”

Leap day is also important to another set of siblings — Harris, Elizabeth and Andrew Rowe.

They are spontaneous triplets — meaning they were conceived without fertility treatments — and their mother, Kelly Rowe, carried them to term ( nearly all higher-order multiples are born premature ).

They were born on leap day without medical intervention.

“That is just when they arrived,” said Kelly Rowe, who lives in Charleston, S.C.

A child didn’t have pajamas for pajama day. His bus driver bought him some.

The Rowe triplets are turning 20 this year, or 5 in leap years. When they were younger, “we’d celebrate three days in a row,” Rowe said, adding that each child would get a designated day. In leap years, though, they celebrate together on the 29th.

“They think it’s quite fun; they like being a little different,” Rowe said.

Judy Shaver Pickett and her daughter, Heather, have another familial leapling story. Shaver Pickett was born Feb. 29, 1952, in Lockport, N.Y. Exactly 24 years later — to the (leap) day — she gave birth to her first child.

“Being a leap year baby, and then having one, it was a big to-do,” said Shaver Pickett, adding that Heather’s birth was covered in the local paper and picked up by the Associated Press. “Everybody in the family wanted me to have her around my birthday.”

Newborn left at firehouse with ‘I love you’ note was just adopted

Shaver Pickett didn’t even think it was a possibility, as she didn’t realize it was a leap year until a few weeks before she delivered her daughter.

“She was born on my birthday, just a one-pound difference from what I weighed,” Shaver Pickett said. “Everybody was just thrilled.”

On non-leap years, mother and daughter celebrate together on the 28th. Sharing an unusual birthday, Shaver Pickett said, has bonded them. This year, Shaver Pickett — who lives in Wingate, N.C. — will visit her daughter in Wilmington, N.C., for a family birthday dinner.

As a leap year baby, Karen Korr uses her birthday as an occasion to do something positive for the world. It started eight years ago on her 40th birthday — for which she had a 10-year-old-themed birthday party. Instead of gifts, she collected toys for children in need.

“I decided that my birthday was a really good reason to raise money for kids,” said Korr, 47, a marketing consultant.

The first year, she also raised $14,000 for foster children in San Diego, through an organization called Voices for Children . Every leap year since, Korr has fundraised for similar causes.

“It’s an easy way to ask for a small donation that can go a long way,” she said, adding that she usually encourages people to match their donation with her leap age. For instance, when she turned “10,” many people donated $10.

This year, Korr is turning 12 and raising money for No Kid Hungry . Her plan for upcoming leap years is to recruit fellow leaplings to join her.

“I would like to work on getting more leap year babies involved ,” she said, adding that she’s also hoping to have a second bat mitzvah next leap year, when she turns 13.

Ethel Bonder is long past her teen years, but she quips that she’s turning 23 — which is the same age as her granddaughter, Zoe.

In actuality, though, Bonder — who sells real estate in a small town just north of Pittsburgh — is nearly 92.

“I’m still here!” she said enthusiastically.

Growing up, Bonder was peeved about being born on Leap Day, she said. But as she got older, she came to appreciate her rare birthday , especially because she is now feted by her family.

They kissed on a school bus. Now, 77 years later, they’re reconnected.

“It’s a celebration,” said Bonder, adding that she is a hosting a party on Thursday.

Leap day this year is also a big deal for Mary Forsythe, who will mark her 25th birthday — which will actually be her 100th.

“I’ve always felt like I was young,” said Forsythe, who lives in Sand Springs, Okla. “I never felt like I was old, and I still don’t feel like I’m old.”

Forsythe was recently recognized by the Centenarians of Oklahoma — a nonprofit in Tulsa — and received an award from the city to commemorate her birthday.

Her two children — as well as her 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren — are throwing her a birthday bash on Thursday. Forsythe said she can hardly wait to ring in her 25th leap day.

“It feels very fabulous,” she said.

A previous version of this article and a photo caption incorrectly said that Judy Shaver Pickett and her daughter were born 23 years apart. They were born 24 years apart. The article and the caption have been corrected.

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cruise homophones meaning

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COMMENTS

  1. Crews vs. Cruise Homophones Spelling & Definition

    Crews and cruise are two commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way when spoken aloud but are spelled differently and mean different things, which makes them homophones. We will examine the definitions of the two homophonic words crews and cruise, where they came from and some examples of their use in sentences.. Crews is the plural form of the word crew, which means a group ...

  2. "Crews" or "Cruise"—Which to use?

    crews / cruise are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇 ... cruise: (noun) an ocean trip taken for pleasure. (verb) drive around aimlessly but ostentatiously and at leisure ...

  3. crews, cruise at Homophone

    Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled. If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing"). The words crews, cruise sound the same ...

  4. cruise noun

    a pleasure cruise around the bay; Modern cruise liners have every conceivable luxury on board. Now they could afford the world cruise they had promised themselves. She worked on a cruise ship as a croupier. They are going on a Mediterranean cruise. This year's cruise will visit the Norwegian fjords. We will be taking a cruise down the Nile.

  5. ENGLISH HOMOPHONES LIST & EXAMPLES

    Improve with homophone examples in audio with voice recorder for ESL speakers. Download homophones pdf list. ... A h omophone is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word but has different spelling and meaning. For example, ... Look at homophones: crews & cruise - they look very different but if we look at the IPA - /kruːz ...

  6. Cruise Definition & Meaning

    cruise: [verb] to sail about touching at a series of ports.

  7. cruise verb

    Definition of cruise verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

  8. How to Pronounce CREWS & CRUISE

    Jennifer from Tarle speech with your two for Tuesday. Two words spelled differently, different meanings, but pronounced exactly the same way. Yes, these words are pronounced the same way. We have cruise a sailing ship and crews a group of workers. So to say these words correctly, let's start with that k sound.

  9. Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms

    What to Know. Homophones are words that sound the same but are different in meaning or spelling.Homographs are spelled the same, but differ in meaning or pronunciation.Homonyms can be either or even both. To help remember, think of the etymology: homophones have the same sound (the Greek phonos), homographs have the same spelling (Greek graphein), and homonym comes from the Greek word meaning ...

  10. Homophones Definition & Meaning

    The meaning of HOMOPHONE is one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling (such as the words to, too, and two). How to use homophone in a sentence. What are homonyms, homophones, and homographs?

  11. crew noun

    Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. ... Homophones crews | cruise crews ... Fire crews were called to the scene. crews verb (third person of crew) He crews for a billionaire on his yacht. cruise noun. We're taking a cruise around the Mediterranean. cruise verb. I'd love to cruise down the ...

  12. Homophones: Definition and Examples

    What Is a Homophone? A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but is usually spelled differently and has a different meaning. Homophones may consist of two or more words, although pairs are more common than three or more words that sound the same. Examples of homophones that have three words are to, too, and two, and their ...

  13. Cruise vs Crews: Difference and Comparison

    A homophone is a well-known concept in the English language. Homophone words appear similar while conversating but distinct during writing. Moreover, they even have different meanings. Cruise and crews are homophonic words in English. Both are very distinct in contemplating and cannot be employed at each-others places.

  14. The Ultimate Guide to Homophones

    Not all homophones are the same. When two words sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings, they are known as homonyms. For example, "knead" and "need" are homonyms as well as homophones. Homophones can be further classified as homographs and heterographs. Homographs are words that are spelled the same way ...

  15. RhymeZone: cruise homophones

    Rhymes Lyrics and poems Near rhymes Thesaurus Phrases Mentions Descriptive words Definitions [Homophones] Similar sound Same consonants Words and phrases that are pronounced exactly the same as cruise : (8 results)

  16. 200 Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

    Homophones—which means "same sounds" in Latin—are two or more words, such as knew and new or meat and meet, that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and often spelling. Homographs, meanwhile, are words that have the same spelling but differ in origin, meaning, and sometimes pronunciation , such as the verb bear (to carry ...

  17. Homophones List: 400+ Common Homophones in English for ESL Learners!

    A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. ... (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. Below is a list of homophones you should notice: accede — exceed; accept — except; addition — edition; adds — adz — ads; affect — effect; ... cruise — crews ...

  18. Exploring Homophones with Kids: A Comprehensive List

    It's important for kids to learn the correct spelling and meaning of each homophone to avoid confusion in their writing and speaking. Tips for Teaching Homophones. Here are some tips for teaching homophones to kids: ... 31. Crews - Cruise 32. Dear - Deer 33. Dew - Due 34. Die - Dye 35. Doe - Dough 36. Done - Dun 37. Draft ...

  19. Understanding Homophones (Examples, Meaning, Words List)

    Homophones: Meaning: Examples: A: Air - Heir: Air-The gases essential for existence of life on planet Heir-The person inheriting the ownership rights: The air feels refreshing in Colorado.Jane is the rightful heir to her father's estate.: Ad-Add: Ad-An advertisement Add-To put numbers or information together: Let's put an ad in newspaper for new store opening. . Would you like to add ...

  20. Homophones and English Pronunciation

    A homophone is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word but has different spelling and meaning. For example, 'one' and 'won' are pronounced the same (/wʌn/ in the IPA) but the have different spelling and different meanings.

  21. Rules and Usage

    The 3 terms - homophone, homograph, and homonym —refer to words that have the same pronunciation, or they have the same spelling (or both) but they differ in their meaning. Homophones - homo=same, phone = sound. These are different words, sometimes spelled alike, that sound the same. Bear and bear; pair and pear.

  22. Homophone

    homophone, one of two or more words that sound the same but have distinctly different meanings. Homophones may be spelled differently, as in the words here and hear, or identically, as in the different meanings of the word bat, which can be defined as a stout stick or club or as a nocturnal flying mammal.The term homophone derives from the Greek words homos, meaning "same," and phōnē ...

  23. Homophones

    A homophone, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is "one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling.". The Collins Dictionary defines homophones as "words with different meanings which are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently.".

  24. A cruise full of people born on leap day? 'Leaplings' mark their day

    Ron White was born on Feb. 29, 1972. The proud leap day baby turns 13 (or 52) this year. (Courtesy of Ron White)