Aye Dead Knot Sea Yew Their

An Exploration of Homophones in English

English is a very rich language, with hundreds of thousands of words. On the one hand, that gives is a wide vocabulary to exploit. On the other hand, that means some pairs, triplets, and occasional bigger-tuples of words, use the same sounds. (On the gripping hand, this rich overlap is one of the bases for wordplay, which gives us a wide variety of games and puzzles.)

As we need to do a lot of reading and writing in the course of our lives, we will encounter homophones. To be understood correctly, we will want to use the correct alternative.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Pronunciation Guide

A

Affect, Effect [ə 'fekt]

Affect (verb) To cause some change on an object. “The temperature will affect how long ice stays frozen.”
Effect (noun) A change caused by something. “High temperature has a deleterious effect on ice, since the ice is 'deleted'.”
Effect (verb) means “to cause to happen” as in, “I will effect repairs on the broken machine.”
Extra: As a noun, Affect (pronounced ['æ fekt]) mean “manner” as in, “His affect tends to make one uncomfortable.”

Aye, Eye, I [aɪ]

Aye (Interjection) is an affirmative answer: “All in favor say ‘Aye’.” Sometimes doubled, especially by Navy personnel.
Eye (noun) is a sensory organ.
I is the first-person, singular, nominative pronoun.

B

Bae, Bay [beɪ]

Bae (noun) is a term of affection for one’s significant other.
Bay (noun) is a large, sheltered area, often of water, conducive to location of a seaport.

Be, Bee [biː]

Be (verb) synonymous with “exist.”
Bee (noun) is a flying insect, which pollinates plants and makes honey (another term of affection).

Beach, Beech [bi:tʃ]

Beach (noun) a strip of land on the border of a body of water, often covered with sand.
Beach (verb) to force something, or to move oneself, onto a beach.
Beech (noun) a large tree with smooth, gray bark, producing fruit (the beechnut).

Bread, Bred [bred]

Bread (noun) is a baked and leavened food made of a mixture whose basic constituent is flour or meal.
Bred (verb) past tense of Breed; means produced offspring through sexual reproduction.

Buy, By, Bye [baɪ]

Buy (verb) synonymous with “purchase.”
By (preposition) signifying an actor or a position.
Bye (noun) is a “free” advancement to the next round of a tournament.
Bye (interjection) is also the short form of “goodbye.”

C

Cannon, Canon ['kæ nən]

Cannon (noun) a large weapon of war that uses an explosion to hurl a heavy projectile (which may or may not have secondary effects).
Canon (noun) the laws of a religious institution; or the “official” elements of a fictional story.

Cay, Key, Quay [kiː]

(All spellings) (noun) a small bank or reef of coral, rock or sand.
Key (noun) is also a (physical or software) device for opening a lock.

Cell, Sell [sel]

Cell (noun) is a small compartment, as in an biological cell or a prison cell.
Sell (verb) is to convince someone of something, especially a customer to purchase a product.

Cereal, Serial ['siː riː əl]

Cereal (noun) is an edible grain such as wheat or corn; or the same processed into a breakfast food.
Serial (adjective) means “one after another.”
Serial (noun) is an episodic story (that is, produced or released in the adverbial sense of “serially”).

Coo, Coup [kuː]

Coo (noun) is the sound made by pigeons (or lovers).
Coup (noun) is the act of overthrowing a recognized government (as in "Coup-Anon").

Coop, Coupe [ku:p]

Coop (noun) is a house for chickens, with any number of doors.
Coupe (noun) is an automobile body style with two doors. (If a chicken enclosure has four doors, is it a chicken sedan?)

Cue, Kew, Kue, Que, Queue [kju]

Cue (noun) is a prompt or signal.
Cue (verb) means to give a prompt or signal.
Cue (noun) is a stick used in billiards to provide an impulse to the billiard balls.
Cue (noun) is the name of the 17th letter of the Latin alphabet; alternatively spelled Kew, Kue, or Que.
Queue (noun) is a line in which people or things wait for service.

D

Dane, Deign [deɪn]

Dane (proper noun) is a person from Denmark, or (with “great”) a large breed of dog.
Deign (verb) means to condescend reluctantly; to stoop.

Dear, Deer [diːr]

Dear (adjective) means “regarded with affection” or “expensive.”
Deer (noun) is an herbivorous quadruped ungulate mammal. (Though I have read that deer are actually "opportunistic carnivores"–they will happily eat meat if it's offered.)

Die, Dye [daɪ]

Die (verb) means to cease living; (of a machine) to stop working.
Die (noun) can mean the singular of “dice,” which is either something cut into separate parts, or objects with multiple faces used for generating random results.
Dye (verb) means to change the color of an object, by applying pigments.
Dye (noun) is the pigment used to change an object’s color.

Do, Doe, Doh, Dough [dəʊ]

Do (noun) is the first tone of the major scale ("a deer, a female deer") (before re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti); not to be confused with a different pronunciation; see below.
Doe (noun) is a female mammal, such as deer or kangaroo, for which the male is called a buck.
Doh (interjection) is an expression of frustration, especially when uttered by a character created by Matt Groening.
Dough (noun) is a mixture of flour or meal, and a liquid such as water or milk, stiff enough to knead or roll.

Do, Due [dʊə]

Do (verb) means to cause to occur.
Do (noun) can also refer to a hairstyle or a party.
Due (adjective) means “because of” (a person or action) or “required at” (a date or time).

Dual, Duel [dul]

Dual (adjective) means “in a set, or sets, of two.”
Duel (verb) means to battle one on one.
Duel (noun) is the act of battling one on one.

E

Effect - see Affect

El, Ell [el]

El (noun) is the name of the 12th letter of the Latin alphabet.
El (noun) is an urban commuter railway, suspended above the street on an elevated structure.
Ell (noun) is a building extension, at right angles to the main part of the building.

Ewe, U, You [ju]

Ewe (noun) a female sheep.
U (noun) is the name of the 21st letter of the Latin alphabet.
You (pronoun) is the second person (singular or plural, nominative or objective case).

Eye - see Aye

F

Faint, Feint [feɪnt]

Faint (verb) to pass out.
Feint (verb) to fake out.

Fair, Fare [feər]

Fair (noun) is an exposition or trade show.
Fair (adjective) means “equitable” or “honest.”
Fare (noun) is the fee paid to ride a (public or commercial) transport.
Fare (noun) can also be material provided for use or enjoyment.
Fare (verb) means get along, as in “How did you fare at the dentist’s office?”

Flour, Flower ['flaʊ ər]

Flour (noun) is a cereal grain ground into small particles.
Flower (noun) is a structure containing the sexual organs of many plant species.

For, Fore, Four [fʊər]

For (preposition) means “to the benefit of.”
Fore (noun) is the front of something.
Fore (interjection) is a warning that a golf ball is headed your way.
Four (noun) is the cardinal number between three and five. (Five is right out!)

G

Gait, Gate [geɪt]

Gait (noun) is the pace at which an animal (especially a horse) walks or runs.
Gate (noun) is a closeable opening in a fence.
Gate (noun, computer logic design) is a device that executes an operation on one or more inputs.
-gate (suffix) is appended to a word to mean something scandalous, referencing the Watergate conspiracy which brought down Richard Nixon's presidency (the third-most heinous scandal in the history of the American presidency [see also Guilt]).

Gild, Guild [gɪld]

Gild (verb) means to coat with gold.
Guild (noun) is an association, usually of artisans or traders.

Gilt, Guilt [gɪlt]

Gilt (adjective) means covered in gold.
Guilt (noun) is the state of having committed a crime or tort, or the emotion associated with having done something wrong.

Gorilla, Guerilla [gə 'rɪ lə]

Gorilla (noun) is the largest of the Great Apes.
Guerilla (noun) is an irregular soldier in a war, usually against a regular army.

H

Hale, Hail [heəl]

Hale (adjective) healthy.
Hail (verb) attempt to gain someone’s attention.
Hail (interjection) a shouted greeting; English for the Latin ave.
Hail (noun) precipitation in the form of ice.

Hall, Haul [hɔːl]

Hall (noun) is a large room, or sometimes a long corridor.
Haul (verb) means to carry (for some distance).

Heal, Heel [hiːl]

Heal (verb) means to cure or to repair; can be transitive or intransitive.
Heel (noun) is the back part of the human foot; sometimes applied to inanimate objects having the general shape of the human heel. Sometimes used to unflatteringly describe a person.

Hear, Here [hiːr]

Hear (verb) means to sense auditorily.
Here (adverb) means “in this place.”
Here (interjection) is for emphasis, as in, “Here, let me help.”

Hi, High [haɪ]

Hi (interjection) is a short form of the greeting, “hello.”
High (adjective) means “at altitude.”
High (adjective) Under the influence of recreational drugs; but this usage is related to the previous sense, as one can feel that one is floating above everything else when under the influence (or so I’ve heard.)

Hour, Our [aʊr or 'aʊ ər]

Hour (noun) is a 24th part of a day.
Our is the first-person plural possessive pronoun.

K

Knead, Need [ni:d]

Knead (verb) to work moistened flour or clay with the hands.
Need (verb) to require something. Also (noun) a thing that is required.

Knight, Night [naɪt]

Knight (noun) is a title granted to male commoners in recognition of some accomplishment; the equivalent title for a woman is “dame.” Knight is also the name of a piece in the game of chess; similarly to the equivalent title, it is considered a “minor piece.”
Night (noun) is the period of the day after sunset and before sunrise.

Knot, Not [nɒt]

Knot (noun) is a tangle (usually, but not always, intentional) in a string or rope, or a naturally occurring irregularity in wood.
Knot (noun) is a unit of speed used in water travel, equivalent to 1 nautical mile per hour.
Not (adverb) modifies a verb, to negate the action.
Not (noun) is an inversion in computer logic design; or the physical structure that produces the inversion (“not gate”). See also Gate (third sense)

Know, No [əʊ]

Know (verb) to have in mind or memory; to be acquainted with a person or thing.
No (interjection) A refusal to do, a denial, or a vote against something.

L

Lade, Laid [leɪd]

Lade (verb) is to load cargo onto a transport.
Laid (verb) is the past tense and past-participle of “to lay” (something down).

Lain, Lane [leɪn]

Lain (verb) is the past-participle of “to lie” (down), as in, to repose horizontally.
Lane is a thoroughfare, or a segment of a thoroughfare.

Lay, Lei [leɪ]

Lay (verb) is to put something down gently.
Lay (verb) is slang for “to copulate” (not necessarily gently, but always with consent).
Lei (noun) is a garland made of flowers.

Lean, Lien [liːn]

Lean (verb) means to use another person or thing for support.
Lien (noun) is a claim against another entity’s property, to ensure payment of a debt.

Lo, Low [ləʊ]

Lo (interjection) used to draw attention to something, as in "Lo and behold!"
Low (adjective) having a smaller value in height, altitude, or pitch.
Low (verb) to make a characteristic, deep sound, as by cattle.

Load, Lode, Lowed [ləʊd]

Load (verb) to place cargo on a transport.
Load (noun) the amount of something loaded for transport, or washed (as laundry).
Lode (noun) a vein of metal ore to be mined.
Lowed (verb, past tense) made a noise like a cow. See also Mooed.

Loan, Lone [ləʊn]

Loan (noun) is a temporary transfer of an asset (often money) to another entity.
Lone (adjective) means singular or solitary.

M

Me, Mi [miː]

Me (pronoun) is the first-person, singular, objective ("a name I call myself").
Mi (noun) is the third note on the major scale, between re and fa.

Mine [miːn]

Mine (noun, verb) refers to extracting minerals from the ground by digging.
Mine (pronoun) is a form of the first-person, singular, possessive “my” that stands alone, as in, “You go your way and I will go mine.” In the past, it was also used before a vowel sound, as in “Mine eyes have seen…” Similarly, the indefinite article “a” changes to “an” before a vowel sound.

Mode, Mowed [məʊd]

Mode (noun) A style, or a setting. In statistics, the most common value in a data set.
Mowed (verb, past tense) Exercised lawn care.

Mood, Mooed [muːd]

Mood (noun) a general feeling.
Mooed (verb, past tense) made a noise like a cow. See also Lowed.

Mohel, Moil [mɔɪl]

Mohel (noun) a person who performs the Jewish rite of circumcision
Moil (verb) to work hard

Aye Dead Knot Sea Yew Their

An Exploration of Homophones in English

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

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