Back to top
Tail, Tale [teəl]
- Tail (verb) means to follow someone, usually surreptitiously.
- Tail (noun) is an appendage in most vertebrates, extending behind the body.
- Tale (noun) is a story, usually fictional.
Taught, Taut [tɔːt]
- Taught (verb, past tense of teach) means to have imparted knowledge to another.
- Taut (adjective) means tight, with no slack.
Tea, Tee, Ti [tiː]
- Tea (noun) is a beverage made from soaking leaves in (usually) hot water.
- Tee (noun) is a stand upon which something is placed, in order to impel the something (as a golf tee).
- Ti (noun) is the seventh note on the major scale ("a drink with jam and bread"), which brings us back to do ("a deer, a female deer").
Team, Teem [tiːm]
- Team (noun) a collection of people, animals, or machines, or combinations thereof, working toward the same goal.
- Teem (verb) means to amass in large numbers; said of a teeming crowd or teeming rain.
Tern, Terne, Turn [tɜːn]
- Tern (noun) is a bird found on seacoasts, related to gulls.
- Terne (noun) is an alloy of lead and tin.
- Turn (verb) means to rotate.
- Turn (noun) is a chance to act (as in a game, “It’s your turn to play”).
The, Thee [ðiː]
- The (adjective) is the definite article; when pronounced as given, either before a vowel sound, or sometimes just for emphasis (“Are you ‘The’ John Smith?”).
- Thee (pronoun) is an archaic form of the second-person singular, objective case.
Their, There, They’re [ðeər]
- Their (pronoun) is the third-person plural (or singular where gender is not specified), possessive case.
- There (adverb) means “in that place.”
- There (interjection) means, “Look at this!” Expressed in exultation or awe.
- They’re (combination and elision) is a contraction of “they are.”
Threw, Through [θruː]
- Threw (verb, past tense of throw) means hurled or tossed.
- Through (preposition) means in one side and out the other, rather than around.
- Through (adverb) means finished, completed, or condemned.
Throe, Throw [θrəʊ]
- Throe (noun) (most often in the plural throes) violent pain or struggle, often associated with birth or death.
- Throw (verb) means to hurl or toss.
- Throw (verb) can also mean to intentionally lose a competition, usually in exchange for some consideration. (pejorative)
Throne, Thrown [θrəʊn]
- Throne (noun) is the chair upon which a monarch sits to reign; often metaphorical.
- Thrown (verb, past participle of throw) means tossed or hurled.
Thyme, Time [taim]
- Thyme (noun) a culinary herb, of the genus Thymus. Taxonomically, the most common form is Thymus vulgaris (literally, "common thyme").
- Time (noun) is the indefinite, consistent progress of events in the past, present, and future. Sometimes regarded as a dimension, similar to the three spatial dimensions. In chemistry, passage of time is marked by the increase of entropy.
Tide, Tied [taɪd]
- Tide (noun) gravitational effect of a large, orbiting body, forcing bulges toward and away from that body.
- Tied (verb, past tense) created a knot, or drew even in a scored event. Thyme and tied weight four know man.
Tighten, Titan ['taɪ tn̩]
- Tighten (verb) means to secure an object, or make it more secure.
- Titan (noun) originally referred to figures in Greek mythology, now means any giant (actual or metaphorical) in any field.
- Titan (proper noun) the largest satellite of the planet Saturn.
To, Too, Two [tuː]
- To (preposition) means approaching, or reaching; or expressing motion in the direction of.
- To (adverb) is used with the base form of a verb to mark the infinitive.
- Too (adverb) in a higher degree than desired.
- Too (adverb) as well.
- Two (noun) the cardinal number after one.
Toe, Tow [təʊ]
- Toe (noun) a digit of the foot.
- Toe (verb) to step up to, as in “toe the line.”
- Tow (verb) to pull or drag something behind, usually one vehicle pulling another.
Ton, Tonne, Tun [tʌn]
- Ton (noun) a unit of weight in the imperial system equal to 2,000 pounds.
- Tonne (noun) a unit of mass in the International System equal to 1,000 kilograms.
- Tun (noun) a large cask for beer or wine; or, a unit of volume in the imperial system, equal to 4 hogsheads. (There is inconsistency on the size of a hogshead…by some definitions, this makes "hogshead" a homophone.)
Tracked, Tract [trækt]
- Tracked (verb, past tense of track) followed the progress of something, as an airplane.
- Tract (noun) an area of indefinite extent, as in “large… tracts of land.”
- Tract (noun) a major passage in a body, as in “digestive tract.”
- Tract (noun) a written treatise.
Troop, Troupe [truːp]
- Troop (noun) a group of soldiers, especially a cavalry unit commanded by a captain.
- Troop (verb) move together in large numbers.
- Troupe (noun) a group of entertainers who tour to different sites to perform.
Turban, Turbine ['tɜːr bən]
- Turban (noun) a type of headwear based on winding cloth.
- Turbine (noun) machine for producing continuous power in which a wheel or rotor, typically fitted with vanes, is made to revolve by a fast-moving flow of water, steam, gas, air, or other fluid.