Glossary · Word parts and vocabulary
What is a homophone?
Definition
A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and usually a different spelling, such as pair and pear.
English has hundreds of homophones because its spelling keeps meanings apart that speech merges. Their, there and they're sound identical. So do to, too and two, and so do right and write.
For reading, homophones are easy: the spelling tells you which word it is. For spelling, they are hard, because sound gives no clue. Students have to connect each spelling to its meaning.
Teach them in pairs with meaning hooks. Here has here in where and there, linking the place words. Hear has ear in it. Those links stick better than lists. Expect homophone errors in writing long after a student can explain the difference, because writing quickly brings out the more common spelling.
In a lesson
Write pair and pear. The student draws a quick picture for each, two socks for pair and a fruit for pear, and writes a sentence using both.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- pairp·air
- pearp·ear
- knightkn·igh·t
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Track homophones from the student's own writing, not from a list. The ones they actually confuse are the ones worth practicing.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.