Good morning, class. As you are aware, the English language is fraught with words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings. These are called homophones.

In a previous lecture, a few of the sound-alike word pairs we discussed were: 

slew / slue

stationary / stationery

mantle / mantel

all ready / already

dessert / desert 

Your first assignment, therefore, is to write once sentence for each word pair, using each word correctly in context. I’ll start you off with an example: 

Sally slued into a slew of slippers. 

(Notice how I slipped in some alliteration.) Or you might prefer a sentence using slew as the past tense of slay. As the cliché goes, whatever floats your boat. 

So let’s be creative, students! Show me your best work. 

All done? Good. Today we’ll add a few more of these sound-alike word pairs to our repertoire. And, as you were duly warned, GQ has come prepared with a pop quiz. Please circle the correct word from the pairs in each of the following sentences: 

1. Bonita was pleased to accept / except the award for her outstanding pie recipe.

2. Judy hopes to have her family all together / altogether for a festive holiday meal one day soon.

3. John’s principle / principal reason for trading in his old car was the repair bills. 

4. Christina hopes there / their won’t be any flight delays during her upcoming trip.

5. Zachary spent more time then / than his friends exploring the interesting cave.

6. Whose / who’s historical romance do you plan to read next?

7. The couple knelt at the alter / altar to renew their wedding vows.

8. Mrs. Zippman will counsel / council the senior class concerning college choices.

9. Cozy mystery readers avoid books with grisly / grizzly scenes of madness and mayhem. 

10. A horde / hoard of Christmas shoppers mobbed the department store.

11. A frisky new puppy is a sight / site / cite to behold!

12. Have you answered the poll / pole about your favorite dining establishment? 

13. Myra is loath / loathe to admit how much she adores Grammar Queen. (I simply had to throw this one in for you!)

(Answers may be found at the bottom of this post. Check your papers and share your score in the comments . . . if you dare.) 

Ah, so many word pairs, so little time. The list could go on and on.

For extra credit, feel free to try your hand with these: 

board / bored 

break / brake 

fare / fair 

fourth / forth 

grate / great 

here / hear

led / lead 

passed / past 

pedal / peddle 

peace / piece 

through / threw 

Which homophones are your biggest bugaboos? Remember, your word processing spell-check will not help you here, so it remains up to you to make sure you always use the right word.

Dears, read my lips.

The dictionary is your friend. USE IT! 

Pop quiz answers:

1. accept

2. all together

3. principal

4. there

5. than

6. whose

7. altar

8. counsel

9. grisly

10. horde

11. sight

12. poll

13. loath

Post your questions and comments below, or feel free to send them to me personally using this comment form.

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