Words with same pronunciation but different spelling

Words with same pronunciation but different spelling


Some troubles in English arise from the fact that there are many words which sound almost the same but are spelt differently. There are of course too many such words to be included in a complete list. Here is a selection of some words similar in sound but different in their spellings:

Air   gas

Heir    a person having the legal right to receive someone's property, money, etc., after his death

Ere   before

Airy  open to the air

Eyrie  a nest built high up among rocks by a bird of prey

Aisle   a passage between rows of seats in a church, theatre, train etc.

Isle  an island

Ail  to cause problems

Ale  a type of beer

Aloud  in a voice that other people can hear

Allowed   let someone/something do

Altar  a holy table in a church or temple

Alter  to change

Analyst  a person who analyses

Annalist  a person who writes annals

Antic  ➤  odd

Antique ➤  ancient

Arc ➤  part of a circle or a curved line

Arch ➤  a curved structure that supports the weight of something above it

Ark ➤  a large boat which Noah built

Area  part of a place, town, etc.

Aria  a song for one voice

Ascent ➤ climbing up

Assent ➤ agreement, to agree

Ash ➤ the grey or black powder 

Ass ➤ a donkey; a stupid person

Bail ➤ surety

Bale ➤ a large amount of a light material pressed tightly together

Bait ➤ food put on a hook to catch fish etc. 

Best ➤ money on a race or an event by trying to predict the result

Baron  a lord

Barren  infertile, not producing fruit or seed

Barter ➤  to exchange goods etc., for other good

Butter  a soft yellow food made from cream of milk

Beach ➤  the shore of the sea

Beech  a tall forest tree

Berth ➤ a place to sleep on a ship or train 

Birth  the process of being born

Born ➤ given birth to

Borne ➤ carried (past participle of bear)

Bourn  boundary, limit

Bare ➤ uncovered

Bear ➤ a heavy wild animal (noun), accept or deal with (verb)

Beer ➤  an alcoholic drink

Bier ➤ a frame on which the dead body is carried at a funeral

Beef ➤ meat that comes from a cow 

Biff  hit someone hard with one's fist

Boarder ➤  a person who pays money to live in a room in someone else's house

Border  boundary, line

Braid  a plait of hair

Bread ➤ a type of food made from flour

Brayed ➤  past tense of bray'

Bore  past tense of 'bear' (v.), a person who is very boring or annoying (n.)

Boar ➤ a wild pig

Bridal  connected with a bride or a wedding

Bridle ➤ set of leather bands attached to reins

Burro ➤ a small donkey

Burrow ➤ to make a hole in the ground by digging (v.) a hole in the ground made by animals (n.)

Borough ➤  a town or part of a city that has its own local government

Borrow ➤  to take and use something that belongs to another and return it to them at a later time

Canon ➤  a Christian priest; a generally accepted rule 

Cannon ➤  an old type of large heavy gun

Canvas ➤  a strong rough heavy material used for making tents, sails, etc.

Canvass   to solicit votes

Carat   a unit for measuring the weight of gold 

Carrot ➤   a long pointed orange root vegetable 

Cession ➤  the act of giving up land or rights

Session ➤  a period of time spent doing a particular activity

Cast ➤  throw

Caste ➤  social status by birth

Cite ➤  to mention or quote

Sight ➤  a view that one sees, act of seeing

Site ➤   a place where a building is to be located

Carriage ➤  a separate section of train for carrying passengers

Courage ➤  bravery

Complement ➤  to add something to make more attractive 

Compliment   a remark that expresses praise or admiration of someone 

Coarse ➤   rough, vulgar

Course ➤  a series of lessons or lectures on a particular subject

Cord ➤  strong thick string or thin rope

Chord ➤  two or more notes played together

Council ➤  an assembly

Counsel ➤  a barrister; advice

Corps ➤  a military force

Corpse ➤ dead body

Dairy   a place on a farm where milk is kept

Diary ➤  a book with is space for each day of the year to write down things to do in the future

Die ➤  to stop living

Dye  ➤ To change color

Dance  ➤ a series of movements and steps that are performed to music 

Dunce  ➤ a person who is stupid or slow to learn 

Deep  ➤ having a large distance from the to the bottom 

Dip  ➤ to put something quickly into a liquid and take it out again 

Defy  ➤ to refuse to obey or show respect 

Deify  ➤ to treat or worship as a deity

Descent  ➤ and action of coming or going down 

Dissent  ➤ to differ 

Degrease  ➤ to remove grease or oil

Degrees  ➤ units for measuring angles

Desert  ➤ a large area of land that has very little water and very few plants

Dessert  ➤ sweet food is eaten at the end of a meal

Deviser  ➤ One who invents something new or a new way of doing something 

Divisor  ➤ a number by which another number is divided 

Diverse  ➤ very different from each other and of various kinds

Divers  of many different kinds

Don  ➤ a teacher at a university, Oxford or Cambridge; to put clothes, etc. on

Dawn   the time of day when light first appears 

Draft  ➤ a rough written version of something that is not yet in its final form 

Draught  ➤ a flow of cool air in a room or other confined space

Dew  ➤ small drops of water that form on the ground 

Due  ➤ caused by or because of someone/something

Ear  ➤ the organs that one hears with

Year  ➤ a period of 12 months 

Fair  ➤ beautiful

Simple Tense

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