Homophones
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Many children will struggle with using the correct word when writing or reading. We created over 15 homophone worksheets to help your child or student master these words.
The three most difficult ones are as follows:
Homophone Worksheets
We created the following homophone worksheets to help your child or student learn to correctly use these words. We carefully selected our words to include the three most difficult ones noted above as well as those that are most commonly found in print.
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Flash Card Helpful Hints
Flash cards are an inexpensive teaching tool that can be used with a small group or with just two people. They can also be used to play a game, e.g., concentration. Be creative and remember to keep it fun! Tip: Cut off the upper left-hand corner so that the words are facing the same direction.
Most Common Homophone List for Kids
The table below contains over 80 common homophones that many children will often confuse and misuse. We also summarized this information in this PDF file – homophone list.
| Word 1 | Word 2 | Word 3 (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| add (addition) | ad (advertisement) | |
| air (oxygen) | heir (successor) | |
| already (previous) | all ready (all are ready) | |
| ant (insect) | aunt (relative) | |
| ate (did eat) | eight (the number 8) | |
| ball (round object) | bawl (cry) | |
| bare (nude) | bear ( animal) | |
| be (exist) | bee (insect) | |
| beat (whip) | beet (vegetable) | |
| been (past participle of be) | bin (box) | |
| blue (color) | blew (did blow) | |
| brake (stop) | break (smash) | |
| by (near) | bye (farewell) | buy (purchase) |
| close (shut) | clothes (clothing) | cloze (test) |
| creek (stream) | creak (grating noise) | |
| deer (animal) | dear (greeting or loved one) | |
| die (expire) | dye (color) | |
| fair (honest or bazaar) | fare (cost of transportation) | |
| feet (plural of foot) | feat (accomplishment) | |
| find (discover) | fined (penalty of money) | |
| flower (bloom) | flour (milled grain) | |
| for (in favor of) | four (the number 4) | fore (front part) |
| great (large) | grate (grind) | |
| heard (listen) | herd (group of animals) | |
| here (this place) | hear (listen) | |
| hi (hello) | high (opposite of low) | |
| hole (opening) | whole (complete) | |
| horse (animal) | hoarse (husky voice) | |
| I (pronoun) | eye (organ of sight) | aye (yes) |
| in (opposite of out) | inn (hotel) | |
| its (possessive noun) | it's (it is) | |
| led (guided) | lead (metal) | |
| loan (something borrowed) | lone (single) | |
| made (manufactured) | maid (servant) | |
| main (most important) | mane (hair) | Maine (state) |
| meet (greet) | meat (beef) | |
| might (may or strength) | mite (small insect) | |
| missed (failed to attain) | mist (frog) | |
| morn (early day) | mourn (grieve) | |
| need (require) | knead (mix with hands) | |
| new (not old) | knew (remembered) | gnu (animal) |
| night (evening) | knight (warrior) | |
| no (negative) | know (familiar with) | |
| oh (exclamation) | owe (be indebted) | |
| one (the number 1) | won (triumphed) | |
| or (conjunction) | oar (of a boat) | ore (mineral deposit) |
| our (possessive pronoun) | hour (sixty minutes) | |
| pair (two of a kind) | pare (peel) | pear (fruit) |
| peace (tranquility) | piece (part) | |
| plane (flat surface) | plain (simple) | |
| principal (chief) | principle (rule) | |
| rain (precipitation) | reign (royal authority) | rein (harness) |
| read (peruse) | reed (plant) | |
| real (genuine) | reel (spool) | |
| red (color) | read (perused) | |
| right (correct) | write (inscribe) | |
| road (street) | rode (transport) | rowed (used oars) |
| sale (bargain) | sail (travel by boat) | |
| see (visualize) | sea (ocean) | |
| seem (appear to be) | seam (joining mark) | |
| sell (exchange for money) | cell (prison room or a very tiny living thing) | |
| sent (did send) | cent (penny) | scent (odor) |
| shoe (foot covering) | shoo (drive away) | |
| side (flank) | sighed (audible breath) | |
| so (in that order) | sew (mend) | sow (plant) |
| some (portion) | sum (total) | |
| son (male offspring) | sun (star) | |
| steal (rob) | steel (metal) | |
| tail (animal's appendage) | tale (story) | |
| their (possessive pronoun) | there (at that place) | they're (they are) |
| through (finished) | threw (tossed) | |
| to (toward) | two(the number 2) | too (also) |
| toe (on foot) | tow (pull) | |
| told (informed) | tolled (rang) | |
| way (road) | weigh (measure) | |
| we (pronoun) | wee (small) | |
| weather (climate) | whether (if) | |
| week (seven days) | weak (not strong) | |
| where (what place) | wear (have on) | ware (pottery) |
| who's (who is) | whose (possessive of who) | |
| wood (of a tree) | would (willing to) | |
| your (possessive pronoun) | you're (you are) |
Fry, E.B., Ph.D. & Kress, J.E., Ed.D. (2006). The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists 5th Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Rath, L.K., Ed.D & Kennedy, L. (2004). The Between the Lions Book for Parents. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
i love this site
Very helpful! Just what I was looking for to help a student who struggles with homophones.
this is very helpful. i have gotten a lot of homophones from here. thank you so much!!
Wonderful source, thank you. However on your PDF you Maine (state) is misspelled. [Miane]