English
Homonyms
The following is a list of English homonyms. A homonym is a pair, sometimes a triplet, of words that have different spellings and the same pronunciation. Homonyms marked with an asterisk (*) are in dispute (see the bottom of the page).
This page was last updated on September 29, 2018.
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Air, Heir, 'Ere |
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Aisle, Isle, I'll |
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Allowed, Aloud |
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Altar, Alter |
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Ant, Aunt |
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Ate, Eight |
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Away, Aweigh |
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Bait, Bate |
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Bans, Banns |
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Bard, Barred |
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Base, Bass |
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Be, Bee |
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Beach, Beech |
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Bear, Bare |
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Bean, Been |
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Beat, Beet |
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Beer, Bier |
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Birth, Berth |
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Bite, Byte |
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Blue, Blew |
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Boll, Bowl |
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Bore, Boar |
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Bored, Board |
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Born, Borne |
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Bow, Bough |
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Bow, Beau |
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Boy, Buoy |
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Brews, Bruise |
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But, Butt |
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By, Bye, Buy |
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Cannon, Canon |
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Capital, Capitol |
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Carrot, Carat, Karat |
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Cause, Caws |
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Cell, Sell |
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Cellar, Seller |
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Censor, Censer, Sensor |
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Cent, Scent, Sent |
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Check, Cheque, Czech |
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Chews, Choose |
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Chilly, |
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Choir, Quire |
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Clause, Claws |
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Click, Clique |
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Cocks, Cox |
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Colonel, Kernel |
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Conquer, Conker |
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Coral, Choral |
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Corral, Chorale |
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Council, Counsel |
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Councilor, Counselor |
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Crews, Cruise |
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Cygnet, Signet |
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Dam, Damn |
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Dessert, Desert Die, Dye |
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Doe, Dough |
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Draft, Draught |
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Eerie, Ayrie |
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Eye, I, Aye |
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Faint, Feint |
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Fare, Fair |
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Feat, Feet |
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File, Phial |
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Filter, Philter |
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Finish, Finnish |
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Flour, Flower |
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Flow, Floe |
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Foaled, Fold |
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For, Fore, Four |
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Foul, Fowl |
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Freeze, Frieze |
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Gait, Gate |
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Gale, Gael |
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Gambol, Gamble |
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Grease, |
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Great, Grate |
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Hangar, Hanger |
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Hair, Hare |
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Herd, Heard |
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Here, Hear |
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Him, Hymn |
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Hoarse, Horse |
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Hole, Whole |
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Holed, Hold |
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Holy, Wholly |
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Idle, Idyll, Idol |
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In, |
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Incite, Insight * |
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Key, Quay, Cay |
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Knit, Nit |
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Leased, Least |
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Light, Lite |
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Links, Lynx |
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Lo, Low |
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Locks, Lox |
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Made, Maid |
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Male, Mail |
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Mantle, Mantel |
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Maze, Maize, Mays |
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Meet, Meat |
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Medal, Meddle |
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Metal, Mettle Might, Mite |
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Miner, Minor |
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Missed, Mist |
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Mistle, Missile, Missal, Missel |
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Mode, Mowed |
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Mussel, Muscle |
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Naught, Nought |
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Naval, Navel |
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Need, Knead, Kneed |
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New, Knew, Gnu |
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Nice, Gneiss |
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Night, Knight |
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No, Know |
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Nose, Knows, Nos |
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Not, Knot |
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One, Won |
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Or, |
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Pact, Packed |
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Pain, Pane |
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Palate, Palette, Pallet |
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Patience, Patients |
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Pea, Pee |
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Peak, Peek, Pique |
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Pear, Pare, Pair |
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Pedal, Peddle |
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Peer, Pier |
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Pie, Pi |
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Piece, Peace |
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Pistol, Pistil |
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Place, Plaice |
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Plain, Plane |
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Plural, Pleural |
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Pole, Poll |
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Pore, Pour, Poor |
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Practice, Practise |
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Pray, Prey |
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Principal, Principle |
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Prophet, Profit |
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Pyx, Picks |
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Rain, Reign, Rein |
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Raise, Rays, Raze |
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Read, Reed |
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Real, Reel |
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Red, Read |
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Rest, Wrest |
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Rex, Wrecks |
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Rhyme, Rime |
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Right, Rite, Wright, Write |
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Ring, Wring |
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Rode, Road, Rowed |
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Roe, Row |
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Rude, Rued |
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Sacks, Sax |
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See, Sea |
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Sees, Seas, Sieze |
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Seem, Seam |
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Seen, Scene |
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Sense, Scents |
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Sent, Scent |
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Shoes, Shoos |
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Sign, Sine Sink, Synch |
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Site, Sight, Cite |
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Slay, Sleigh |
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Slight, Sleight |
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Sloe, Slow |
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So, Sow, Sew |
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Soared, Sword |
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Son, Sun |
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Sore, Soar |
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Soul, Sole |
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Sowed, Sewed |
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Sown, Sewn |
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Staid, Stayed |
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Straight, Strait |
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Stair, Stare |
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Stationary, Stationery |
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Steak, Stake |
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Steal, Steel |
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Sticks, |
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Succour, Sucker |
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Surplus, Surplice |
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Swayed, Suede |
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Sweet, Suite |
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Symbol, Cymbal |
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Tacks, Tax |
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Tact, Tacked |
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Taut, Taught |
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Tea, Tee |
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Team, Teem |
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Tecnology, Technology |
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Tents, Tense |
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There, Their, They're |
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Throw, Throe |
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Tier, Tear |
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Tire, |
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To, Too, Two |
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Toll, Tole |
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Tolled, Told, Toled |
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Ton, Tonne, Tun |
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Tow, Toe |
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Vail, Vale, Veil |
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Vain, Vein, Vane |
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Vial, Vile |
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Wade, Weighed |
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Wait, Weight |
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Want, Wont |
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Ware, Wear, Where * |
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Waste, Waist |
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Wax, Whacks |
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Way, Weigh, Whey |
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We, Wee |
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Weak, Week Weave, We’ve |
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Weather, Whether |
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Were, Whir |
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Wet, Whet |
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Whale, Wail |
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Whales, |
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What, Watt |
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Wheel, Weal, We'll |
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While, Wile Whine, Wine |
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Whirl, Whorl |
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Wit, Whit * |
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Witch, Which * |
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Wood, Would |
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Word, Whirred * |
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Yoke, Yolk |
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You, Ewe |
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You'll, Yule |
Disputed
Homonyms
A number of readers have emailed me to dispute the listing of a number of words in this list. As I explained to them, I take a very broad view of how words are pronounced in practice, not just how they should be pronounced according to the dictionary. Nonetheless, the following list will detail the listed homonyms which others dispute.
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Incite, Insight |
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Wear, Where |
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Which, Witch |
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Whit, Wit |
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Word, Whirred |
Homonyms or Homophones
Several People have contacted me to say these words are homophones, not homonyms. While I agree that homophone is a better description of two words that sound alike, the OED does list a secondary definition of homonyms as two words that sound the same. As it turns out, I use the word homonym because my grade one teacher, Miss Webb, used this term.
Do you know a homonym that's not here? See one here that you disagree with? Drop me a line.
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