Homophone Words

A word that is pronounced like another word but has a different spelling and meaning is called a homophone. They are also known as "sound-alike words".

Example:
1. Wait for me.
2. My weight is 22 kilos.

Here, the words wait and weight sound the same but have a different spelling and a different meaning: 'wait' means 'to stay where you are'. The word 'weight' means 'how heavy somebody or something is' and it can be measured in kilograms or pounds.

Example:
1.Bear
2.Bear

Here, the words bear and bear have the same sound and spelling but different meaning. 'Bear' is the name of a wild animal while the word 'bear' also means 'to carry'.

Example:
1. Rose
2. Rose

Here, the words rose and rose have the same sound and spelling but different meaning. 'Rose' is the name of a flower while the word 'rose' is also the 'past tense of rise'.

Knowledge of homophone words expands and enriches vocabulary so that an increasingly varied vocabulary can be used when writing. It also helps to develop grammatical knowledge, word recognition and contextual understanding of words.