Homonyms are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. It is often easy to confuse these words and use them inappropriately. Often these words are also known as homophones: words that sound alike but are spelled differently.
| a lot, allot | affect, effect | altar, alter |
| all ready, already | all together, altogether | all ways, always |
| ascent, assent | beach, beech | bare, bear |
| berth, birth | blue, blew | boarder, border |
| break, brake | bridal, bridle | buy, by, bye |
| canvas, canvass | capital, capitol | ceiling, sealing |
| cereal, serial | cite, sight, site | coarse, course |
| colonel, kernel | complement, compliment | dear, deer |
| discreet, discrete | dyeing, dying | fair, fare |
| formally, formerly | forth, fourth | gilt, guilt |
| hear, here | heard, herd | hole, whole |
| horse, hoarse | idle, idol, idyll | I'll, isle, aisle |
| it's, its | knew, new | know, no |
| lead, led | leak, leek | lessen, lesson |
| lightning, lightening | meat, meet | pale, pail |
| peace, piece | peal, peel | plain, plane |
| pray, prey | principal, principle | rain, reign, rein |
| raise, raze | read, reed | right, rite, write |
| root, route | scene, seen | seam, seem |
| sew, so | shone, shown | slay, sleigh |
| sole, soul | steel, steal | stationary, stationery |
| straight, strait | team, teem | their, there, they're |
| threw, through | thrown, throne | to, too, two |
| waist, waste | wait, weight | ware, wear, where |
| weather, whether | weak, week | which, witch |
| who's, whose | yoke, yolk | your, you're |