Common Homonyms

Affect/Effect:
The weather affected his attitude.
What effect will the extra credit have on my grade?

Allude/Elude:
The story alluded to the last war.
He eluded the guards.

Already/All ready:
She was already there when he arrived.
I’m all ready to go.

Altogether/All together:
Altogether, it’s a good car.
They were all together again for the first time in years.

Anyway/any way:
Anyway, I’m glad you came.
Any way you look at it, it’s a tough choice.

Bare/Bear:
She was exposed to the bare elements.
The bear growled at him.

Board/Bored:
The board was painted black and red.
He was bored of the game.

Brake/Break:
Brake at the stop sign!
I need a break from my job.

Capital/Capitol:
They raised enough capital to start a business.
 The capitol building is beautiful.

Cents/Scents/Sense:
It cost fifty cents.
The scents coming from the bakery were divine.
It makes sense to close your windows in the winter.

Coarse/Course:
Her coarse coat was itchy.
He learned a lot through the course of the year.

Complement/Compliment:
The wine complemented the dessert.
She gave him a compliment on his tie.

Cue/Queue:
I received the cue to start the music.
I’ll have to look through the queue to find the right song.

Desert/Dessert:
It was hot in the desert.
Do you want dessert with your dinner?

Ensure/Insure:
How can you ensure this is the right thing to do?
He insured his car in case of an accident.

Fare/Fair:
The bus fare was $5.00.
She thought that judges weren’t fair.

Forth/Fourth:
It was time to go forth into the world.
This was the fourth time this week she drove the carpool.

Hear/Here:
It was hard to hear her friend over the loud music.
 She was here to stay.

Hole/Whole:
The rabbit fell down the hole.
The whole pie was gone before the night was over.

Holy/Wholly:
It was a holy place.
The raise was wholly unexpected.

Its/It’s:
He founds its footprints in the sand.
It’s time to go to school.

Knew/New:
I knew that store would have a sale today.
The new sweater was still too expensive.

Know/No:
How did you know that this was the best fishing spot?
There is no way that he can run that fast.

Lead/Led:
You have to use a lead pencil for the test.
The teacher led the way through the zoo.

Lose/Loose:
Don’t lose that ticket!
The scarf came loose and blew away.

Male/Mail:
The auto class had only males in it.
I got my acceptance in the mail.

Pare/Pair:
He needed to pare down his collection.
So he threw out 20 pairs of socks.
Passed/Past:
He passed the drinking fountain on his way in.
If you go past the statue, you’ve gone too far.

Principal/Principle:
The principal went to the meeting.
It’s the principle of the matter that counts.

Shear/Sheer:
It’s time to shear the sheep.
The sheer number of birds was astounding.

Sight/Site:
She lost her sight in an accident.
The police went to the site where it happened.

Sole/Soul:
It was her sole responsibility to look after the dog.
Don’t lose your soul for money.

To/Too/Two:
She went to the store.
I want to come, too.
There were only two candy bars left.

Than/Then:
Bob’s score was better than John’s score.
She tripped and then she fell.

Their/There/They’re
It was their first time to the beach.
They went there because they heard it was beautiful.
They’re planning to go back next year.

Wear/Where:
What are you going to wear to the party?
Where is the party?
Weather/Whether:
The weather was beautiful for September.
I don’t know whether or not that’s unusual.

Who’s/Whose:
Who’s there?
Whose shoes are these?

Your/You’re:
I went to your birthday party last year.
You’re the best at winning the games.