Do you know what homophones are? According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, homophones are words that are pronounced the same as other words but have different meanings or spellings, or both.
You’ve probably noticed that you can find many everyday words that are homophones in English. Knowing homophones help you improve your pronunciation by relating a specific word to another.
For example, since ‘mail’ and ‘male’ are homophones, when you pronounce these two words they should sound exactly the same!
Here you can find a comprehensive list of homophones in English with their respective (most common) meanings.
Homophones in English
| ad (advertisement); add (to put two or more numbers or amounts together to get a total) |
| aisle (a passage between rows of seats in a building such as a church or theater, an airplane, or a train); isle (an island or peninsula, especially a small one); I’ll (I will) |
| air (the invisible gaseous substance surrounding the earth, a mixture mainly of oxygen and nitrogen); err (be mistaken or incorrect; make a mistake); heir (a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person’s death) |
| aloud (audibly; not silently or in a whisper); allowed (past and past participle of allow) |
| ant (a small insect); aunt (the sister of one’s father or mother or the wife of one’s uncle) |
| ate (past of eat); eight (number 8) |
| bail (the temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial, sometimes on condition that a sum of money be lodged to guarantee their appearance in court); bale (a bundle of paper, hay, cotton, etc., tightly wrapped and bound with cords or hoops) |
| ball (a solid or hollow spherical or egg-shaped object that is kicked, thrown, or hit in a game); bawl (weep or cry noisily) |
| band (a group of musicians); banned (past and past participle of ban) |
| bare ((of a person or part of the body) not clothed or covered); bear (a large, heavy mammal that walks on the soles of its feet, having thick fur and a very short tail) |
| be (exist, occur, take place); bee (an insect of a large group to which the honeybee belongs) |
| beat (strike (a person or an animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or injure them); beet (the edible dark red spherical root of a kind of beet, eaten as a vegetable) |
| berry (a small roundish juicy fruit without a stone); bury (place (a dead body) in the earth, in a tomb) |
| billed (past and past participle of ‘bill’); build (construct (something) by putting parts or material together) |
| bin (a receptacle in which to deposit trash or recyclables); been (past participle of ‘be’) |
| bite (use the teeth to cut into or through something); byte (a group of binary digits or bits (usually eight) operated on as a unit) |
| blew (past of ‘blow’); blue (of a color intermediate between green and violet, as of the sky or sea on a sunny day) |
| board (a long, thin, flat piece of wood or other hard material, used for floors or other building purposes); bored (feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity) |
| brake (a device for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle); break (separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain) |
| buy (obtain in exchange for payment); by (a preposition that identifies the agent performing an action); bye (short for goodbye) |
| caret (a mark (‸, ⁁) placed below the line to indicate a proposed insertion in a printed or written text); carrot (a tapering orange-colored root eaten as a vegetable); karat (a measure of the purity of gold, pure gold being 24 karats) |
| cell (a small room in which a prisoner is locked up or in which a monk or nun sleeps; short for cellular phone); sell (give or hand over (something) in exchange for money) |
| cent (a monetary unit of the US, Canada, and various other countries, equal to one hundredth of a dollar, euro, or other decimal currency unit); scent (a distinctive smell, especially one that is pleasant) |
| chili (a small hot-tasting pod of a variety of capsicum, used chopped (and often dried) in sauces, relishes, and spice powders); chilly (uncomfortably cool or cold); Chile (a country in South America) |
| chews (third person singular form of ‘chew’ in the present simple); choose (pick out or select) |
| cereal (a grain used for food, such as wheat, oats, or corn); serial (consisting of, forming part of, or taking place in a series) |
| cite (quote); site (an area of ground on which a town, building, or monument is constructed); sight (the faculty or power of seeing) |
| coarse (rough or loose in texture or grain); course (the route or direction followed by a ship, aircraft, road, or river) |
| complement (a thing that completes or brings to perfection); compliment (a polite expression of praise or admiration) |
| close (a short distance away or apart in space or time); clothes (items worn to cover the body) |
| creek (a stream, brook, or minor tributary of a river); creak (make a harsh, high-pitched sound when being moved or when pressure or weight is applied) |
| cue (a thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance); queue (a line or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting their turn to be attended to or to proceed) |
| days (plural of ‘day’); daze (make (someone) unable to think or react properly; stupefy; bewilder) |
| deer (a hoofed grazing or browsing animal, with branched bony antlers that are shed annually and typically borne only by the male); dear (regarded with deep affection; cherished by someone) |
| dew (tiny drops of water that form on cool surfaces at night, when atmospheric vapor condenses); do (perform); due (expected at or planned for at a certain time) |
| die (stop living); dye (add a color to or change the color of something) |
| dual (consisting of two parts, elements, or aspects); duel (a contest with deadly weapons arranged between two people in order to settle a point of honor) |
| eye (each of a pair of globular organs in the head through which people and vertebrate animals see); I (used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself) |
| fair (in accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate); fare (the money a passenger on public transportation has to pay) |
| fairy (a small imaginary being of human form that has magical powers, especially a female one); ferry (a boat or ship for conveying passengers and goods, especially over a relatively short distance and as a regular service) |
| finish (bring (a task or activity) to an end; complete); Finnish (relating to the Finns or their language; from Finland) |
| flea (a small wingless jumping insect which feeds on the blood of mammals and birds); flee (run away from a place or situation of danger) |
| feat (an achievement that requires great courage, skill, or strength); feet (the lower extremity of the leg below the ankle, on which a person stands or walks) |
| flew (past of ‘fly’); flu (short for influenza) |
| flour (a powder obtained by grinding grain, typically wheat, and used to make bread, cakes, and pastry); flower (the seed-bearing part of a plant) |
| for (intended to be given to); four (the number 4) |
| foul (offensive to the senses, especially through having a disgusting smell or taste or being unpleasantly soiled); fowl (a bird of the order Galliformes that is kept for its eggs and flesh; a rooster or hen) |
| gaol (old-fashioned for ‘jail’); jail (a place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime) |
| great (of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average); grate (reduce (something, especially food) to small shreds by rubbing it on a grater) |
| gorilla (a powerfully built great ape with a large head and short neck, found in the forests of central Africa); guerrilla (a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces) |
| groan (make a deep inarticulate sound in response to pain or despair); grown (past participle of ‘grow’) |
| guest (a person who is invited to visit the home of or take part in a function organized by another); guessed (past and past participle of ‘guess’) |
| hair (any of the fine threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans, mammals, and some other animals); hare (a fast-running, long-eared mammal that resembles a large rabbit) |
| hall (an area in a building onto which rooms open; a corridor); haul (pull or drag with effort or force) |
| heal (cause (a wound, injury, or person) to become sound or healthy again); heel (the back part of the human foot below the ankle) |
| hear (perceive with the ear the sound made by someone or something); here (in, at, or to this place or position) |
| heed (pay attention to; take notice of); he’d (contraction of ‘he would’) |
| him (used as the object of a verb or preposition to refer to a male person or animal previously mentioned or easily identified); hymn (a religious song or poem of praise to a god) |
| hole (a hollow place in a solid body or surface); whole (all of; entire) |
| hoarse (sounding rough and harsh, typically as the result of a sore throat or of shouting); horse (a large plant-eating domesticated mammal with solid hoofs and a flowing mane and tail) |
| hostel (an establishment which provides inexpensive food and lodging for a specific group of people, such as students, workers, or travelers); hostile (unfriendly; antagonistic) |
| hour (a period of time equal to a twenty-fourth part of a day and night and divided into 60 minutes); our (belonging to or associated with the speaker and one or more other people previously mentioned or easily identified) |
| idle (avoiding work; lazy); idol (a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered) |
| in (expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else); inn (an establishment providing accommodations, food, and drink, especially for travelers) |
| knew (past of ‘know’); new (not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time) |
| knot (a fastening made by tying a piece of string, rope, or something similar); not (negation) |
| know (be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information); no (negation) |
| knight (a man who served his sovereign or lord as a mounted soldier in armor); night (the period of darkness in each twenty-four hours) |
| maid (a female domestic servant); made (past and past participle of ‘make’) |
| mail (letters and packages conveyed by the postal system); male (relating to men or the male gender) |
| marry (join in marriage); merry (cheerful and lively) |
| meat (the flesh of an animal (especially a mammal) as food); meet (come into the presence or company of someone) |
| nun (a member of a religious community of women); none (not any) |
| one (number 1); won (past and past participle of ‘win’) |
| overdo (do, use, or carry to excess; exaggerate); overdue (not having arrived, happened, or been done by the expected time) |
| or (used to link alternatives); oar (a pole with a flat blade, pivoting in an oar lock, used to row or steer a boat through the water) |
| pain (physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury); pane (a single sheet of glass in a window or door) |
| pair (a set of two things used together or regarded as a unit); pear (a yellowish- or brownish-green edible fruit) |
| peace (freedom from disturbance; tranquility); piece (a portion of an object or of material) |
| plain (not decorated or elaborate); plane (a flat surface; an airplane) |
| poll (the process of voting in an election); pole (a long, slender, rounded piece of wood or metal, typically used with one end placed in the ground as a support for something) |
| poor (lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society); pour (flow rapidly in a steady stream) |
| principal (first in order of importance; main); principle (a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning) |
| profit (a financial gain); prophet (a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God) |
| rap (trike (a hard surface) with a series of rapid audible blows); wrap (cover or enclose (someone or something) in paper or soft material) |
| rain (moisture condensed from the atmosphere that falls visibly in separate drops); rein (a long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse’s bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse while riding or driving); reign (hold royal office; rule as king or queen) |
| real (actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed); reel (a cylinder on which film, wire, thread, or other flexible materials can be wound) |
| red (of a color at the end of the spectrum next to orange and opposite violet); read (past of ‘read’) |
| right (morally good, justified, or acceptable); write (mark (letters, words, or other symbols) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen or a pencil) |
| road (a wide way leading from one place to another); rode (past of ‘ride’) |
| sacks (plural of ‘sack’, or third person singular form of ‘sack’ in the present simple); sax (a saxophone) |
| sale (the exchange of a commodity for money); sail (a piece of material extended on a mast to catch the wind and propel a boat or ship or other vessel) |
| sea (the expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth’s surface); see (perceive with the eyes) |
| seen (past participle of ‘see’); scene (the place where an incident in real life or fiction occurs or occurred) |
| sight (the faculty or power of seeing); site (an area of ground on which a town, building, or monument is constructed) |
| sole (the undersurface of a person’s foot); soul (the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal) |
| so (and for this reason; therefore); sew (join, fasten, or repair (something) by making stitches with a needle and thread or a sewing machine) |
| son (a boy or man in relation to either or both of his parents); sun (the star around which the earth orbits) |
| stationary (not moving or not intended to be moved); stationery (writing paper, especially with matching envelopes) |
| stair (a set of steps leading from one floor of a building to another); stare (look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something with one’s eyes wide open) |
| steal (take (another person’s property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it); steel (a hard, strong, gray or bluish-gray alloy of iron with carbon and usually other elements) |
| sweet (having the pleasant taste characteristic of sugar or honey); suite (a set of rooms designated for one person’s or family’s use or for a particular purpose) |
| tail (the hindmost part of an animal, especially when prolonged beyond the rest of the body); tale (a fictitious or true narrative or story) |
| their (belonging to or associated with the people or things previously mentioned or easily identified); there (in, at, or to that place or position); they’re (contraction of ‘they are’) |
| to (expressing motion in the direction of a particular location); too (in addition; also); two (the number 2) |
| vain (having or showing an excessively high opinion of one’s appearance, abilities, or worth); vein (any of the tubes forming part of the blood circulation system of the body); vane (a broad blade attached to a rotating axis or wheel which pushes or is pushed by wind or water and forms part of a machine or device such as a windmill, propeller, or turbine) |
| wait (stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens); weight (a body’s relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it) |
| way (a method, style, or manner of doing something); weigh (find out how heavy (someone or something) is, typically using scales) |
| wear (have on one’s body or a part of one’s body as clothing); where (in or to what place or position) |
| week (a period of seven days); weak (lacking physical strength and energy) |
| weather (the state of the atmosphere at a place and time); whether (expressing a doubt or choice between alternatives) |
| which (asking for information specifying one or more people or things from a definite set); witch (a woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick) |
| wood (the hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree); would (past of ‘will’) |
| your (belonging to or associated with the person or people that the speaker is addressing); you’re (contraction of ‘you are’); (of) yore (of long ago or former times) |
Now you understand what homophones are. You’ve also learned a lot of homophones in English. Remember them the next time you use one of these words.
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