Quick List of 31 Homophones Examples (with Sentences)

Are you a speech-language pathologist, teacher, or intervention specialist teaching homophones to your students? Do you need a bit of a reminder of the difference between homonyms, homophones, and homographs? If so, keep reading for a clear explanation between these terms.

This blog post contains a homophones list, homophones examples with sentences, and it also provides a definition of a homophone. In fact, this blog post provides a list of 31 ready-to-go homophones to use during your speech therapy session or classroom instruction.

This blog post contains a list of 31 homophones with example sentences that can be used during special education or speech therapy session.

Speech therapists will also find the list of the 6 most commonly confused homophones beneficial.

Finally, make sure to check out 2 recommended homophones activities to try with your students! These engaging activities feature worksheets and a play dough smash mat with a unique “manicure” theme.

What are Homophones?

Homophones are pairs of words that are pronounced the same. However, they have different meanings and different spellings.

An example of a homonym is “ate” versus “eight”.

Both words are pronounced the same, however, they are spelled differently and have completely different meanings.

Ate is the past tense form of ‘eat’. You could say, “We ate dinner.”

Eight is a number. You could say, “She is eight years old.”

Keep scrolling down a list of 31 ready-to-use homophones. These homophones will be very useful during a speech therapy session. Have your student see if they can use the homophones in sentences of their own- or see if they can correctly choose the right homophone to fill-in the blank of a written or spoken sentence.

This article provides a free list of homophones that can be used during your speech therapy session

What’s the Difference Between Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs?

Understanding the difference between homonyms, homophones, and homographs can be confusing.

These terms describe different types of word relationships based on pronunciation and spelling.

Homonyms (Same Sound and Same Spelling)

Homonyms are like an umbrella term. They include both homophones and homographs.

Homonyms are words that are spelled the same and pronounced the same but have different meanings. In other words, the same sound and the same spelling.

An example of a homonym is “bat”- as in, the mammal that flies around and the wooden baseball bat.

A few more examples of homonyms:

bark (tree bark, and the noise a dog makes)
tire (to feel fatigued, what covers a wheel)
rock (a mineral substance, a gentle back-and-forth movement)

Homophones (Same Sound)

If you look at the suffix ending ‘phone’, which means sound, this will help you remember that homophones sound the same.

So, homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.

At night, you go to sleep. A knight wears armor.

Homophone examples:

Flour (what you use to make bread) vs Flower (what you plant in a garden)
Pair (like a pair of shoes) vs Pear (the fruit)
Here (as in, come here!) vs Hear (as in, did you hear me?)

Scroll down for a longer list of examples of homophones!

Homographs (Same Spelling)

The suffix ending ‘graph’ means ‘to write’– and this can help you remember that homographs are spelled, or written, the same way, but have different meanings.

An example of a homograph would be “wind” and “wind”, as in the wind that you feel on a windy day and a wind-up toy.

Notice the different pronunciation in this example: A pencil has lead, but a basketball player might lead his team to victory.

Sometimes, homographs are pronounced differently (lead/ lead), but sometimes, they are pronounced the same (bear/ bear).

Here are a few examples of homographs:

Row (row the boat, or line up your ducks in a row)
Tear (tear the paper, or have a tear roll down your cheek)
Object (you can object to something, or you might just label an object)

Why Is It Important to Teach Homophones?

Why should speech-language pathologists and other educators teach homophones to students?

First, this is a great way to increase vocabulary! Students can learn new words and increase vocabulary knowledge and depth. Check out more vocabulary goal ideas here.

Second, teaching homophones can enhance reading and writing skills. Learning homophones can have a positive impact on spelling, writing better sentences, and understanding text. Using the incorrect word in a sentence can impact the meaning of that sentence.

Third, teaching homophones can help increase listening comprehension skills. Students must listen carefully to the context of how the word was used in a sentence to discern the meaning.

List of Homophones

Here is a list of the most common homophones that could be used with students. These examples of homophone sets can be used in speech therapy sessions.

Aunt, Ant
Bare, Bear
Be, Bee
Break, Brake
By, Buy, Bye
Scent, Cent, Sent
Due, Dew
I, Eye
Fair, Fare
Flower, Flour
Great, Grate
Hear, Here
Night, Knight
Not, Knot
Meet, Meat
Pear, Pair
Plain, Plane
Right, Write
See, Sea
Tail, Tale
Through, Threw
To, Too, Two
Waist, Waste
Where, Wear
Weather, Whether
Which, Witch
Allowed, Aloud
Bored, Board
Principle, Principal
Deer, Dear
Whose vs Who’s

Homophones Examples with Sentences

Here is a list of example sentences for the 30 different homophones listed above.

Aunt, Ant: My Aunt Marie came to visit. I saw an ant in my yard.
Bare, Bear: The trees are bare. The bear lives in the forest.
Be, Bee: I want to be a baseball player. The bee stung me!
Break, Brake: Don’t break Mom’s new vase! Hit the brake when you’re driving in the car.
By, Buy, Bye: I’ll stop by the grocery store later. Did you buy milk? She said bye to her grandma.
Scent, Cent, Sent: I love the scent of vanilla. A penny is worth one cent. I sent you a letter.
Due, Dew: My homework is due on Tuesday. There was dew on the grass.
I, Eye: I play soccer. My eye helps me see.
Fair, Fare: We went to the fair. Did you pay the fare?
Flower, Flour: I planted a flower. I used flour in the recipe.
Great, Grate: What a great idea! Let’s grate some cheese.
Hear, Here: I can’t hear you. Put it over here.
Night, Knight: We go to bed at night. The knight wore his armor.
Not, Knot: I’m not happy right now. Tie a knot with your shoelace.
Meet, Meat: It’s so nice to meet you. Do you eat meat?
Pear, Pair: A pear is a fruit. I have a new pair of shoes.
Plain, Plane: She drinks plain coffee. I flew to Florida in a plane.
Right, Write: Turn right by the stop sign. I write a letter to my grandma.
See, Sea: I see a rabbit in the backyard. My cousins live by the sea.
Tail, Tale: My dog has a tail. He told a very unlikely tale.
Through, Threw: We walked through the park. He threw a baseball.
To, Too, Two: I went to the grocery store. I ate too much pizza. She just turned two.
Waist, Waste: She wore a belt around her waist. Don’t waste your food!
Where, Wear: Where are my keys? I will wear my new jacket on Friday.
Weather, Whether: The weather is beautiful today. Whether you like it or not , you have to clean your room.
Which, Witch: Which movie should we watch? I dressed up as a witch on Halloween.
Allowed, Aloud: Are you allowed to go to the dance? The teacher read aloud to her class.
Bored, Board: I’m so bored today! I am going to board the plane.
Principle, Principal: Some common principles include honesty, teamwork, and integrity. The principal called him to the office.
Deer, Dear: I saw a deer in my yard. My dear, you need to try your best.
Whose, Who’s: Whose coat is this? Who’s coming with me?

6 Most Commonly Confused Homophones

Here’s a list of the most commonly confused homophones, including an example of a three-word homophone set.

their, there, they’re
your, you’re
its, it’s
to, too, two
then, than
Whose, Who’s

Example Sentences for Commonly Confused Homophones

Here are example sentences and explanations for the 6 most commonly confused homophones.

Homophones Examples with Sentences

Their / There / They’re

That is their dog. ‘Their’ is a possessive pronoun- it tells us who owns something.

Put your coat over there. ‘There’ is referencing a location.

They’re not coming to the game. ‘They’re’ is a contraction- it stands for “they are”.

Your/ You’re

Put your shoes on. ‘Your’ is a possessive pronoun.

You’re late! ‘You’re’ is a contraction- it stands for “you are”.

Its, It’s

The dog licked its paw. ‘Its’ is a possessive pronoun.

It’s raining today! ‘It’s’ is a contraction- it stands for ‘it is’.

To, Too, Two

We went to the game. ‘To’ is a preposition that indicates a direction or purpose.

She wants to come to the store too. ‘Too’ can mean ‘also’, ‘excessively’, or ‘in addition to’.

I have two cats. ‘Two’ represents the number 2.

Then, Than

We’ll cook dinner then eat. ‘Then’ is discussing time.

I’m taller than you. ‘Than’ makes comparisons.

Whose, Who’s

Whose jacket is this? In this case, ‘whose’ is a possessive pronoun.

Who’s coming to the game? ‘Who’s’ is a contraction (who is or who has).

2 Homophone Activities

Here are two homophone activities to try out with your students.

The first activity includes a set of worksheets that will allow your student to practice defining homophones, using them in sentences, matching definitions, and using homophones in sentence fill-in tasks.

Your students will love the unique second activity as well, which will be a complete “salon” experience- keep reading for more information!

Homophone Worksheets

These homophone worksheets are a fun way to target vocabulary skills in your special education classroom or during a speech and language therapy session!

First, a definition page is included to explain the meaning of a homophone.

After that, your student will examine a pair of words. A picture is provided for each homophone on the worksheet, and your student will say it, spell it, define it, and use it in a sentence. This will help your student visualize that using the wrong word in a sentence can completely change the meaning! There are 8 total “defining” worksheets included.

This is a homophones worksheet that can be used in speech therapy or special education. Students can provide a definition for each homophone and use it in a sentence.

Next, your student will match each homophone pair to a different definition. There are 4 ‘matching definition’ worksheets included.

Then, your student can practice using the correct homophone in a sentence fill-in task with the cut-and-paste worksheets. 4 of these worksheets are included.

Finally, a simple homophones game board page is included. This can be paired with a die and a game piece or dauber.

Play Dough Homophones Activity

Do you think your older students don’t want to play with play dough?

Think again!

This exciting manicure-themed language packet includes a homophones page.

It also targets other language skills, such as synonyms, antonyms, multiple-meaning words, adjectives, story elements, conjunctions, plurals, and past-tense verbs.

First, you will choose the target skill.

Your student will choose the play dough color.

Next, your student will use each homophone word pair in sentences.

This is a homophones activity for speech therapy or special education to target vocabulary skills.

After that, your student will smash play dough on the nail.

Eventually, all of the nails will have “nail polish” (aka, play dough) on them, and the manicure will be complete!

By the way- if your students love this activity, be sure to check out the articulation manicure activity (or just grab the bundle).

Summary

Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs

In summary, this article explained the difference between homonyms, homophones, and homographs. It provided a definition for each term.

A homonym can include the same sound and the same spelling. Examples of homonyms include ‘bark’ (as in tree bark, or the sound a dog makes) and ‘rock’ (as in, a gentle movement, or a rock outside).

What is a homophone? A homophone contains the same sound. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. An example of a homophone is ‘night’ versus ‘knight’.

Homographs contain the same spelling. Homographs are spelled, or written, the same way, but have different meanings. Some examples of homographs include ‘row’ (as in, line them up in a row, or row your boat) and object (as in, I object to that! or I see the object on the table).

Homophones

Scroll up to find a helpful list of 31 homophones that you can use during your speech therapy session or instruction. Your students could try defining each homophone, using them in sentences, or participating in sentence fill-in tasks. Add any homophones from the list onto a tic-tac-toe board for an easy- but very fun- activity that your students will love! Another fun vocabulary activity you could try with homophones is a “matching” or “memory” game- or even a bean bag toss game.

Speech-language pathologists will also find the list of 6 commonly confused homophones very beneficial. There are also homophones examples with sentences. These homophones include:

their, there, they’re
your, you’re
its, it’s
to, too, two
then, than

Scroll up to see examples of how these homophones are used in sentences.

Engaging Homophone Activities and Worksheets

Here are two engaging homophone activities to use with your students:

Quick List of 31 Homophones Examples (with Sentences)

What are Homophones?