1.

Close
a) Shut : Did you close the windows before leaving the house?
b) Near: The post office is close to the bank in the main town.
2. Bow
a) Type of knot: She always wraps her presents with colourful bows /bəʊz/
b) To make a forward movement with the top part of your body: Japanese people
always bow /baʊ/ to show respect.
3. Bat
a) in baseball or cricket: Tom has a strange way of holding his cricket bat.
b) an animal: We often see bats in our garden in the early evening.
4. Minute
a) tiny: The chances of success were minute /maɪnju:t/
b) unit of time: I will be with you in just a minute /mɪnɪt/
5. Ball
a) sphere: We love ball games.
b) a dance: At university, there was always a Summer Ball.
6. Fly
a) move through the air: I love to watch the birds fly from tree to tree.
b) an insect: I hate it when a fly lands in my soup!
7. Left
a) direction: When you get to the end of the road, turn left.
b) past tense of leave: She left the office at 5pm. NB: In this example, “left” doesn’t
mean “went”. That is a mistake on the image. It should say “departed” past tense of the
verb “depart”.

8. Pupil
a) part of the eye: Simon has very large pupils.
b) student in a school: Jessica is the star pupil in her drama class.
9. Sewer
a) drain: There is an extensive sewer /su:ə(r)/ system under the city of London.
b) someone who sews: Alice is a good sewer /səʊə(r)/. NB: This meaning is not
commonly used in English. We refer to a person who sews as either a seamstress
(female) or tailor (female and male)
10. Wound
a) past tense of to wind /waɪnd/: Ben wound /waʊnd/ the tape up after he had
finished with it.
b) to injure or an injury: Three soldiers were wounded /wu:ndəd/ in the attack./
The wound /wu:nd/ in my leg is taking a long time to heal.
11. Fair
a) just: I think that the boss was very fair in the way he handled the dispute between the
two sides.
b) exhibition: There’s an arts and crafts fair this weekend. Would you like to go?
12. Fan
a) an admirer: I am a huge fan of Woody Allen’s films.
b) a cooling device: Can you switch off the fan, please? I’m really cold.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

1. accent
2. address
3. advocate
4. agape
5. alternate
6. bank
7. bar
8. bass
9. bat
10. bow
11. brace
12. buck
13. building
14. carp
15. certain
16. cleave
17. close
18. contact
19. contract
20. crane
21. dab
22. damper
23. dear
24. degree
25. deliberate
26. discharge
27. discount
28. dismount
29. display
30. doing
31. dove
32. down
33. drain
34. drawer
35. dub
36. effect
37. engage
38. entrances
39. even
40. evening
41. excuse
42. exploit
43. extract
44. fairly
45. file
46. finance
47. fine
48. flush
49. foot
50. funny
51. gay
52. go
53. gorge
54. grave
55. hard
56. hoe
57. impact
58. implant
59. import
60. impound
61. incline
62. inclined
63. increase
64. insert
65. insult
66. intercept
67. interchange
68. intestine
69. intimate
70. into
71. intrigue
72. invalid
73. invite
74. just
75. kind
76. lead
77. learned
78. leave
79. leaves
80. left
81. letter
82. lie
83. light
84. lighter
85. lit
86. live
87. lose
88. lumber
89. manifest
90. match
91. may
92. mean
93. median
94. mind
95. minute
96. mode
97. moped
98. mortar
99. murder
100. nail
101. notice
102. novel
103. number
104. obituary
105. object
106. objective
107. obtuse
108. odd
109. offense
110. overcount
111. overlay
112. overlook
113. park
114. patient
115. perfect
116. perfume
117. permit
118. pervert
119. pitch
120. plaster
121. polish
122. portmanteau
123. predate
124. present
125. pretty
126. proceeds
127. progress
128. project
129. protest
130. purpose
131. putting
132. quail
133. quarry
134. racket
135. read
136. rebel
137. recall
138. recap
139. recess
140. record
141. redress
142. refund
143. refuse
144. regress
145. reject
146. relapse
147. remake
148. research
149. resent
150. retake
151. retard
152. retract
153. right
154. rock
155. rose
156. round
157. row
158. scared
159. seal
160. second
161. sewer
162. sheer
163. short
164. sign
165. sink
166. skied
167. sow
168. spirit
169. spoke
170. story
171. straight
172. subject
173. survey
174. suspect
175. tear
176. theory
177. tie
178. toll
179. too
180. train
181. transfer
182. transform
183. transplant
184. transport
185. transpose
186. type
187. undercount
188. update
189. uplift
190. upset
191. venery
192. watch
 193. wave
194. wind
195. wound
196. yard

Homophones are pairs of words that sound the same, but have distinctly different meanings and
different spellings. Understanding homophones is an essential part of mastering the English
language, both for vocabulary building and spelling.

20 Common Homophone Pairs

Some common examples of homophones, including the words used in a sentence, are:
 brake/break: When teaching my daughter how to drive, I told her if she didn't hit the brake in
time she would break the car's side mirror.
 cell/sell: If you sell drugs, you will get arrested and end up in a prison cell.
 cent/scent: I won't spend one cent on a bottle of perfume until I know that I love the scent.
 die/dye: If you accidentally drank a bottle of fabric dye, you might die.
 flour/flower: To bake a flower-shaped cake, you'll need some flour.
 for/four: I purchased four new pairs of shoes for my upcoming vacation.
 heal/heel: If the heel breaks on your shoe, you might fall. However, your injuries will heal over
time.
 hear/here: I wanted to sit here so I could hear the singer performing without any distractions.
 hour/our: We have one hour before our appointment with the real estate agent.
 idle/idol: Being idle makes me unhappy, but listening to my idol Taylor Swift makes me happy.
 knight/night: The knight is on his way to the castle, but traveling at night is very dangerous.
 knot/not: I do not know how she learned to tie the knot to make that necklace.
 poor/pour: I pour drinks at a bar every night. I am poor because I have too many bills and not
enough money.
 right/write: There is no right way to write a great novel.
 sea/see: At my beach house, I love to wake up and see the sea.
 sole/soul: I need to get a new sole put on my favorite pair of running shoes. Jogging is good for
my soul.
 son/sun: My son is 13 years old. He likes to spend time outside in the sun.
 steal/steel: Someone who decides to steal a car has committed a crime, but auto parts are made
of steel.
 tail/tale: My cat was crazily chasing his tail while I read a fairy tale to my children.
 weather/whether: I don't know whether to bring a jacket or not. The weather looks
unpredictable today.

Frequently Confused Homophones

There are several homophones in the English language that almost everyone gets confused at some
point. These frequently confused homophones include:
 accept/except: Accept is a verb that means to take or receive. Except is used as
a preposition or conjunction to mean but or exclude.
 affect/effect: Affect is a verb (in most cases) and indicates influence. Effect is a noun (in most
cases) and is the result of an action or change.
  compliment/complement: Compliment means to say something nice about someone or
something. Complement means something that enhances or completes.
 then/than: Then is a versatile word used as an adverb, noun or adjective to show the order of
how things happened. Than is a subordinating conjunction you can use to make comparisons.
 to/too: To can be a preposition or infinitive when used with a verb. Too is an adverb or a
synonym for also.
 you're/your: You're is a contraction for you are. Your is a pronoun.

ex·press1

/ikˈspres/
verb
1. 1.
convey (a thought or feeling) in words or by gestures and conduct.
"he expressed complete satisfaction"
synonyms: communicate, convey, indicate, show, demonstrate, reveal, intimate, manifest, make
manifest, exhibit, evidence, put across/over, get across/over;
articulate, put into words, utter, voice, give voice to, give expression
to, enunciate, pronounce, verbalize, word, phrase, render, frame, couch;
state, assert, proclaim, profess, air, make public, give vent to, vent;
say, tell, speak, mouth, point out;
denote, illustrate, symbolize, signify, embody;
rareevince, asseverate
"community leaders expressed anger over the result of the referendum"
2.
squeeze out (liquid or air).
"she would express her milk using a pump and take it home for her baby"
synonyms: squeeze out, press out, wring out, force out, extract, expel
"the grapes are trodden until all the juice is expressed"

ad·dress
/əˈdres,ˈaˌdres/
noun
1.
the particulars of the place where someone lives or an organization is situated.
"they exchanged addresses and agreed to keep in touch"
synonyms: inscription, label, mark, superscription;
directions
"Juliet looked at the scribbled address on the envelope"
 2.
a formal speech delivered to an audience.
"she delivered an address to the National Council of Teachers"
synonyms: speech, lecture, talk, monologue, dissertation, discourse, oration, peroration; More
o
verb
write the name and address of the intended recipient on (an envelope, letter, or
package).
"I addressed my letter to him personally"
synonyms: label, direct, inscribe, superscribe More
speak to (a person or an assembly), typically in a formal way.
"she addressed an audience of the most important Shawnee chiefs"
synonyms: talk to, give a talk to, give an address to, speak to, make a speech to, lecture, give a
lecture to, hold forth to, give a disc

ob·ject
noun

1. 1.
a material thing that can be seen and touched.
"he was dragging a large object"
synonyms: thing, article, item, piece, device, gadget, entity, body; More

a person or thing to which a specified action or feeling is directed.

"disease became the object of investigation"
synonyms: target, butt, focus, recipient, victim
"he became the object of fierce criticism"

verb
/əbˈjekt/
1. 1.
say something to express one's disapproval of or disagreement with something.
"residents object to the volume of traffic"
synonyms: protest (against), lodge a protest (against), raise/express objections (to), express
disapproval (of), express disagreement (with), oppose, be in opposition (to), take
exception (to), take issue (with), take a stand against, have a problem (with), argue
(against), remonstrate (against), make a fuss (a
ac·cent
noun
/ˈakˌsent/
a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a
particular nation, locality, or social class.
"a strong German accent"
synony pronunciation, intonation, enunciation, elocution, articulation, inflection, tone, modulatio
ms: n, cadence, timbre, utterance, manner of speaking, speech
pattern, speech, diction, delivery; More
1. 2.
a distinct emphasis given to a syllable or word in speech by stress or pitch.
synonyms: stress, emphasis, accentuation, force, prominence; More

verb
1.
emphasize (a particular feature).
"fabrics that accent the background colors in the room"
synonyms: focus attention on, bring/call/draw attention to, point
up, underline, underscore, accentuate, highlight, spotlight, foreground, feature, give
prominence to, make more prominent, make more noticeable, play up, bring to the
fore, heighten, stress, weight, emphasize, put/lay emphasis on
Right

noun
1. 1.
that which is morally correct, just, or honorable.
"she doesn't understand the difference between right and wrong"
syn goodness, rightness, righteousness, virtue, virtuousness, integrity, rectitude, uprightness, pri
ony nciple, propriety, morality, truth, truthfulness, honesty, honor, honorableness, justice, justne
ms: ss, fairness, equity, equitableness, impartiality; More
2.
a moral or legal entitlement to have or obtain something or to act in a certain way.
"she had every right to be angry"
syn entitlement, prerogative, privilege, advantage, due, birthright, liberty, authority, authorizatio
ony n, power, license, permission, dispensation, leave, consent, warrant, charter, franchise, sanct
ms: ion, exemption, immunity, indemnity; More

verb
1. 1.
restore to a normal or upright position.
"we righted the capsized dinghy"
synonyms: turn the right way up again, turn back over, se

match1

/maCH/
noun
1. 1.
a contest in which people or teams compete against each other in a particular sport.
"a boxing match"
synonyms: contest, competition, game, tournament, tie, cup tie, event, fixture, trial, test, test
 match, meet, bout, fight, duel; More
2. 2.
a person or thing able to contend with another as an equal in quality or strength.
"they were no match for the trained mercenaries"
synonyms: equal, rival, equivalent, peer, counterpart;
rarecompeer
"he was no match for the champion"

verb
1. 1.
correspond or cause to correspond in some essential respect; make or be harmonious.
"the jacket and pants do not match"
synonyms: go with, coordinate with, complement, harmonize with, blend with, tone with, team
with, be the same as, be similar to, suit More
be equal to (something) in quality or strength.
"his anger matched her own"

bark1

/bärk/
noun
1. 1.
the sharp explosive cry of certain animals, especially a dog, fox, or seal.
synonyms: woof, yap, yelp, bay; More
o
verb
1. 1.
(of a dog or other animal) emit a bark.
"a dog barked at her"
synonyms: woof, yap, yelp, bay; More
o
utter (a command or question) abruptly or aggressively.
"he began barking out his orders"

pres·ent1

/ˈprez(ə)nt/
adjective
1. 1.
 in a particular place.
"a doctor must be present at the ringside"
synonyms: in attendance, attending, here, there, near, nearby, at hand, close/near at
hand, adjacent, available, ready;
accounted for
"a doctor must be present at the ringside"

existing or occurring now.

"she did not expect to find herself in her present situation"
synonyms: current, present-day, existing, contemporary, immediate;
archaicinstant
"in the present climate jobs are hard to come by"
noun
1. 1.
the period of time now occurring.
"they are happy and at peace, refusing to think beyond the present"
synonyms: now, today, the present time, the here and now, this day and age, the present
moment, the time being

rec·ord
noun

/ˈrekərd/
1. 1.
a thing constituting a piece of evidence about the past, especially an account of an act
or occurrence kept in writing or some other permanent form.
"identification was made through dental records"
synonym account(s), document(s), documentation, data, file(s), dossier(s), information, evidence,
s: report(s); More
o
o
2. 2.
the sum of the past achievements or actions of a person or organization; a person or
thing's previous conduct or performance.
"the safety record at the airport"
synonyms: previous conduct/performance, track record, previous
achievements/accomplishments, career to date, history, past, life
history, background; More
o
3.
4.
o
 verb
1. 1.
set down in writing or some other permanent form for later reference, especially
officially.
"they were asked to keep a diary and record everything they ate or drank"
synonyms: write down, set down, put in writing, put down, take down, note, make a note of, jot
down, put down on paper, commit to paper;

ad·vo·cate
noun

/ˈadvəkət/
1. 1.
a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.
"he was an untiring advocate of economic reform"
synonym champion, upholder, supporter, backer, promoter, proponent, exponent, protector, patr
s: on; More
o
o
verb

/ˈadvəˌkāt/
1. 1.
publicly recommend or support.
"they advocated an ethical foreign policy"
synonyms: recommend, prescribe, commend, advise, favor, approve
of, support, back, uphold, subscribe to, champion, campaign on behalf of, stand up
for, speak for, argue for, plead for, press for, lobby
for, urge, promote, espouse, endorse, sanction, vouch for;More

ref·use1
verb
verb: refuse; 3rd person present: refuses; past tense: refused; past
participle: refused; gerund or present participle: refusing
1. indicate or show that one is not willing to do something.
"I refused to answer"
 noun: refuse
1. matter thrown away or rejected as worthless; trash.
"heaps of refuse"
synonyms: rubbish, waste, debris, litter, garbage, discarded
matter, detritus, dross, landfill, scrap, rubble,

sub·ject
noun

/ˈsəbjekt/
1. 1.
a person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with.
"I've said all there is to be said on the subject"
synonyms: theme, subject
matter, topic, issue, question, concern, text, thesis, content, point, motif, thread; More

2. 2.
a branch of knowledge studied or taught in a school, college, or university.
synonyms: branch of knowledge, branch of study, course of
study, course, discipline, field, area, specialism, speciality, specialty
"there were cuts in funding for popular university subjects"

verb
1. 1.
cause or force to undergo (a particular experience of form of treatment).
"he'd subjected her to a terrifying ordeal"
synonyms: put through, treat with; More
2. 2.
bring (a person or country) under on

sec·ond1
number
1. 1.
constituting number two in a sequence; coming after the first in time or order; 2nd.
"he married for a second time"
synonyms: next, following, after the first, subsequent, ensuing, succeeding, coming
"the second day of the trial"
subordinate or inferior in position, rank, or importance.
"it was second only to Copenhagen among Baltic ports"
synonyms secondary, lower, subordinate, subsidiary, lesser, minor, subservient, supporting, lowe
: r-grade, inferior
 "Malcolm is dropping down to captain the second team"
2.
verb
1. 1.
formally support or endorse (a nomination or resolution or its proposer) as a necessary
preliminary to adoption or further discussion.
"Bertonazzi seconded Birmingham's nomination"
synonyms: formally support, give one's support to, announce one's support for, vote
for, back, back up, approve, give one's approval to, endorse, promote, commend
"George Beale seconded the motion"
1. 2.
ARCHAIC
composed or made up of.
"towns compact of wooden houses"
verb
verb: compact; 3rd person present: compacts; past tense: compacted; past
participle: compacted; gerund or present participle: compacting

/kəmˈpakt/
1. 1.
exert force on (something) to make it more dense; compress.
"the soil may be compacted by iron oxide"
synonyms: compress, condense, pack d

noun
noun: compact; plural noun: compacts

/ˈkämˌpakt/
1. 1.
a small flat case containing face powder, a mirror, and a powder puff.
2. 2.
something that is a small and conveniently shaped example of its kind.
o short for compact car.
3. 3.
METALLURGY
a mass of powdered metal compacted together in preparation for sintering.

con·tent1
 /kənˈtent/
adjective
1. 1.
in a state of peaceful happiness.
"he seemed more content, less bitter"
synonyms: contented, satisfied, pleased; More
o
verb
1. 1.
satisfy (someone).
"nothing would content her"
synonyms: soothe, pacify, placate, appease, please, mollify, make
happy, satisfy, still, quieten, silence
"her reply seemed to content him"
o
noun
1. 1.
a state of satisfaction.
"the greater part of the century was a time of content"
synonyms: contentment, contentedness, satisfaction, fulfillment; More
2. 2.
a member of the British House of Lords who votes for a particular motion

con·tract
noun

/ˈkäntrakt/
1. 1.
a written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning employment, sales, or
tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by law.
"both parties must sign employment contracts"
synony agreement, commitment, arrangement, settlement, undertaking, understanding, compact,
ms: covenant, pact, bond; More
verb
1. 1.
decrease in size, number, or range.
"glass contracts as it cools"
synonyms: shrink, get smaller, become smaller; More
2. 2.
enter into a formal and legally binding agreement.
"the local authority will contract with a wide range of agencies to provide services"
synonyms: undertake, pledge, promise, covenant, commit oneself, engage; More

di·gest
verb
1. 1.
break down (food) in the alimentary canal into substances that can be absorbed and
used by the body.
synonyms: break down, dissolve, assimilate, absorb, take in, take up
"babies take longer to digest formula milk"
noun
/
1. 1.
a compilation or summary of material or information.
"a digest of their findings"
CHEMISTRY
a substance or mixture obtained by digestion.
"a digest of cloned DNA"

de·sert1
verb
verb: desert; 3rd person present: deserts; past tense: deserted; past
participle: deserted; gerund or present participle: deserting
1. abandon (a person, cause, or organization) in a way considered disloyal or treacherous.
"we feel our public representatives have deserted us"
synonyms: abandon, leave, give up, cast off, turn one's back on; More
antonyms: stand by

noun
noun: desert; plural noun: deserts
1. 1.
a dry, barren area of land, especially one covered with sand, that is characteristically
desolate, waterless, and without vegetation.
synonyms: wasteland, waste, wilderness, wilds, dust bowl, barren land
"the desert of the Sinai peninsula"
o a situation or area considered dull and uninteresting.
"a cultural desert"
synonyms: uninteresting
 mi·nute1

/ˈminit/
noun
noun: minute; plural noun: minutes; noun: arc minute; plural noun: arc minutes;
noun: minute of arc; plural noun: minutes of arc
1. 1.
a period of time equal to sixty seconds or a sixtieth of an hour.
"he stood in the shower for twenty minutes"
o the distance covered in sixty seconds by som

mi·nute2

/mīˈn(y)o͞ot/
adjective
adjective: minute; superlative adjective: minutest
1. extremely small.
"a minute fraction of an inch"
synonyms tiny, minuscule, microscopic, nanoscopic, very
: small, little, micro, diminutive, miniature, baby, toy, midget, dwarf, pygmy, Lilliputian
; More
antonyms
huge
:
o so small as to verge on insignificance.
"he will have no more than a minute chance of exercising significant influence"
synonym negligible, slight, infinitesimal, minimal, trifling, trivial, paltry, petty, insignificant, ina
s: ppreciable; More

proj·ect
noun

/ˈpräˌjekt/
1. 1.
 an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned and designed to
achieve a particular aim.
"a research project"
o
o
2. 2.
NORTH AMERICAN
a government-subsidized housing development with relatively low rents.
"her family still lives in the projects"
verb
1. 1.
estimate or forecast (something) on the basis of present trends.
"spending was projected at $72 million"
synonyms: forecast, predict, estimate, calculate, gauge, reckon, expect, extrapolate
"substantial growth of over six percent is projected for 1993 and 1994"
.
extend outward beyond something else; protrude.
"I noticed a slip of paper projecting from the book"
synonyms: stick out, jut out, jut, protrude, extend, stand out, hang over, overhang, bulge
out, poke out, lap over, ride over, thrust out, obtrude, cantilever; More
pro·duce
verb

/prəˈd(y)o͞os/
1. 1.
make or manufacture from components or raw materials.
"the company has just produced a luxury version of the aircraft"
synonyms: manufacture, make, construct, build, fabricate, put together, assemble, turn out, bring
out, process, create; More
o
o
o
2. 2.
cause (a particular result or situation) to happen or come into existence.
"no conventional drugs had produced any significant change"
synonyms: give rise to, bring about, cause, occasion, generate, engender, lead to, result
in, effect, induce, initiate, start, set off; More
3.
4.
o
5.
noun
 /ˈpräd(y)o͞os,ˈprōd(y)o͞os/
1. 1.
things that have been produced or grown, especially by farming.
"dairy produce"
synonyms: food, foodstuff(s); More

pa·tient

/ˈpāSHənt/
adjective
1. 1.
able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or
anxious.
"be patient, your time will come"
synonyms: forbearing, uncomplaining, tolerant, long-suffering, resigned, stoical; More
noun
1. 1.
a person receiving or registered to receive medical treatment.
synonyms: sick person, case, sufferer, victim; More
2. 2.
LINGUISTICS
the semantic role of a noun phrase denoting something that is affected or acted upon by
the action of a verb.

e·ject
verb

/rəˈjekt/
1. 1.
dismiss as inadequate, inappropriate, or not to one's taste.
"union negotiators rejected a 1.5 percent pay increase"
o
o
o
 noun

/ˈrēˌjekt/
1. 1.
a person or thing dismissed as failing to meet standards or satisfy tastes.
"some of the team's rejects have gone on to prove themselves in championships"

con·tact
noun

/ˈkänˌtakt/
1. 1.
the state or condition of physical touching.
"the tennis ball is in contact with the court surface for as little as 5 milliseconds"
synonyms: touch, touching; More
o
o
o
2. 2.
the state or condition of communicating or meeting.
"Lewis and Clark came into contact with numerous river tribes"
synonyms: communication, connection, correspondence, touch, association
"she was still in contact with her friends"

verb
1. 1.
communicate with (someone), typically in order to give or receive specific information.
synonyms: get in touch with, communicate with, make contact with, approach, reach, notify, be
in communication with; More
2. 2.
touch.
"I winced as my blister contacted the floor"

im·port
verb
 /imˈpôrt/
1. 1.
bring (goods or services) into a country from abroad for sale.
"Japan's reluctance to import more cars"
synonyms: buy from abroad, bring from abroad, bring in, buy in, ship in, source from abroad
"the UK imports 95 percent of its charcoal"
o
o
2. 2.
ARCHAIC
indicate or signify.
"having thus seen, what is imported in a Man's trusting his Heart"
o
noun

/ˈimˌpôrt/
1. 1.
a commodity, article, or service brought in from abroad for sale.
synonyms: imported commodity, foreign commodity, nondomestic commodity
"a tax levied on imports"
o
o
2. 2.
the meaning or significance of something, especially when not directly stated.
"the import of her message is clear"
synonyms: meaning, sense, essence, gist, drift, purport, message, thrust, substance, sum and
substance, implication, signification, point, burden, tenor, spirit; More