Homonyms, homophones, what’s the difference? And why should you care?

Homonyms are words that sound the same and are spelled the same, but have different meanings. These come up quite frequently but rarely cause a problem on submissions because they don’t cause spelling errors and people know what the words mean.

A lion stalks gazelles.
Plants have stalks

The tree has bark.
The dogs bark.

Homographs have the same spelling, but sound different. Again, these don’t usually cause problems on submissions.

He went to the desert on a horse with no name.
It was time to desert the ship.

Where things get tricky are with homophones. Homophones are words that have different meanings and different spellings but sound the same. Since homophones cause spelling errors, and spelling is important, many users get off-track when using the wrong word because it sounds like the right word.

Also, homophones are tricky because since the word you’re typing does have a correct spelling, even if you’re using it with the wrong meaning, it won’t show up on a spell check. Some word processing software will ask you to verify if you’re using the right word if a homonym for it exists, but don't count on it.

In general, how should you catch homophones? Edit and review your material, and familiarize yourself with the common homophones listed below. You can also test the contractions by saying them without the contraction. Using the examples below, saying, "The Medusa kills it is victims by petrifying them." or "The gun is still they are by the door." or "Who is silver-head cane is this?" don't make any sense. Thus you should use "its," "there," and "Whose," respectively.

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The four big offenders, the ones we see every day, are:

it’s (contraction of “it is”): It’s time to feed Lassie.
its (possessive): The Medusa kills its victims by petrifying them.

their: Luke and Laura enjoyed their honeymoon.
they’re (contraction of “they are”): They’re going to Moon Base Alpha.
there: The gun is still there by the door.

to: Are you going to the showing of Deal or No Deal?
two: Two men will travel in the rocket.
too: The scene was all too familiar.

whose: Whose silver-headed cane is this?
who’s (contraction of “who is”): Who’s going to search for Dr. Kimbel?

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Other lesser, but still common homophones, are:

aunt: Aunt Bee told Opie to clean his room.
ant: She had seen a giant ant in the desert.

brake: Hooker pushed down on the brake pedal.
break: Give me a break!

by: The weather is fairly warm by June.
bye: Say good-bye to the nice man.
buy: Let’s rush out to buy coats for the coming winter.

dear: You are a very dear man.
deer: Her favorite animal is a pet deer named Bambi.

hear: Did you hear the news today, oh my?
here: President Palmer will be here soon.

hole: He dug a deep hole in the ground for his fallout shelter.
whole: He wanted the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

meet: Would you like to meet Ms. Dubois?
meat: Sam is the owner of the meat market.

principal: Mr. Weaver was the school principal.
principle: He lived his life by the principle of “live and let live.”

write: Teddy is learning to write in cursive.
right: Take a right at the next corner.

road: Did Dorothy walk down the yellow brick road?
rode: I don’t think she rode her horse Avatar.

tale: The old shaman told his tale by the campfire.
tail: Tell me the one about how the dog lost his tail.

threw: Timmy threw the stick.
through: It went straight through his chest and out the other side.

would: Would you please help Piper?
wood: Jason is chopping some wood for the campfire.

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There are also times when a compound word means something different than the same two components given separately.

Allot vs. “a lot”
Allot means “to assign.” ”A lot means “a large number.” There is no such word in the English language as “alot."

allot: He allotted ten hours a day to watching TV.
a lot: Some people say he watches a lot of television.

Anyone vs. “any one”

Anyone refers to any person. Any one refers to a single person or item.

anyone: Anyone who watches C.S.I. Mongolia has good taste.
any one: Any one television show is unimportant in the scheme of things.

Awhile vs. “a while”

Awhile is an adverb meaning “for a time.” A while is a noun meaning “a short time.”

awhile: I think we should watch TV awhile longer.
a while: I think I should watch TV for a while.

Apart vs. “a part”

Apart is an adverb meaning “not together.” ”A part is a noun meaning “one piece.”

apart: When we’re apart, my heart grows cold.
a part: Bad television is a part of life.

everyday vs. "every day"

Everyday is an adjective meaning "daily." Every day means "each day," or regularly.

everyday: Brushing teeth is an everyday activity for most people.
every day: Most people brush their teeth every day.

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Finally there are those annoying word-pairs that almost sound the same, almost look the same, and have different meanings... and people still get them switched around anyway. The common ones we see are:

Than vs. Then

Than is a conjunction that compares items. Then is an adverb used with descriptions of time.

than: I’d rather be a hammer than a nail.
then: He brushed his teeth then he went to bed.

Accept vs. Except

Accept is a verb meaning “to receive.” Except means “aside from.

accept: I’ll accept the award for Best Documentary.
except: Everyone won an award except Bob.

Affect vs. Effect

Affect is a verb meaning “to influence.” Effect is a noun meaning “a result.”

affect: Bob’s late nights on the computer affected his grade point.
effect: Bob’s late nights on the computer had an effect on his grade point.

(Sometimes effect is used as verb meaning “to cause.” Note the difference between this and affect.)

Ensure vs. Insure

Ensure is a verb that means “to be certain.” Insure is a verb that means “to guarantee against monetary loss.

ensure: He took steps to ensure the server was working.
insure: The company took steps to insure their server against weather damage.

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Next time: Commas and periods and colons, oh my!


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Previous columns:

Write Like You Talk
Sourcing Your Material
Know Your Capitals!
A Matter of Timing