It is critical to know the right spelling of a term before using it in written English. Even though they sound the same, you don’t want to write “two” when you mean “to.” Spelling is less essential in spoken English than pronunciation. Consider the word “read,” which has two pronunciations: “red” and “reed.” Because these words produce so much misunderstanding, it’s worth taking a few moments to learn the distinction between homophones and homonyms.

So what do these words mean?

What are Homophones?

Homophones are probably the most common causes when it comes to confusions between words. Actually, they are pairs of words that are pronounced the same and have very similar spellings, usually varying through only one letter. Even so, their meanings are completely different and should be used in different contexts, without the possibility to replace one another as this would totally change the message.

Here are a few examples 👇🏾

Homophone1	Meaning	Homophone2	Meaning
aural	related to the ear or sense of hearing	oral	spoken rather than written
band	a thin strip used as a fastener or decoration	banned	to officially or legally prohibit something
censor	to suppress unacceptable parts of something (eg. movie)	sensor	a device which detects a physical property
die	to stop living	dye	a natural or synthetic substance used to add colour
gait	a person’s manner of walking	gate	a barrier used to close an opening in a wall, or hedge
holy	sacred	wholly	entirely, fully
idle	avoiding work, lazy	idol	an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship
pray	to address a prayer to God or another deity	prey	an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food
scent	a distinctive smell, especially one that is pleasant	cent	a monetary unit in various countries
write	mark (letters, words, or other symbols) on a surface with a pen, or pencil	right	morally good, justified, or acceptable

What are Homonyms?

Homonyms are words that are spelled the same but have completely different meanings (two or more). More precisely, a homonym is a word that can mean several things in different contexts, even though it is spelled the same.

Here are a few examples 👇🏾

Word	Meaning1	Meaning2
address	the particulars of the place where someone lives or an organization is situated	a formal speech delivered to an audience
bear	carry the weight of, support	a large, heavy mammal, having thick fur and a very short tail
fair	treating people equally without discrimination	(of hair or complexion) light
kind	a group of people or things having similar characteristics	having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature
match	a contest in which people or teams compete against each other in a particular sport	be equal to someone or something in quality or strength
park	a large public garden or area of land used for recreation	bring (a vehicle that one is driving) to a halt and leave it temporarily
rose	a prickly shrub that typically bears red, pink, yellow, or white fragrant flowers	move from a lower position to a higher one
spring	the season after winter and before summer	move or jump suddenly or rapidly upwards or forwards
train	teach (a person or animal) a particular skill or type of behaviour through practice and instruction	a series of connected railway carriages or wagons moved by a locomotive or by motors
well	in a good or satisfactory way	a shaft sunk into the ground to obtain water, oil, or gas

There are many other examples of both Homophones and Homonyms in the English language. Let us know in the comments below 👇🏾

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