Just An Idea [Writing Tips]

Homonyms & Homophones

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I did a chapter on synonyms to help stop you from being a repetitive writer and mentioned antonyms in there as well. How about we learn a bit about homonyms and homophones?

Homonyms, or multiple-meaning words, are words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings.

A can of soup / She can do that.

A dimond ring / You hear a phone ring.

A car with a big trunk / A long elephant trunk

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Homophones, also known as sound-alike words, are words that are pronounced identically, although they have different meanings and often have different spellings as well.

I think everyone has heard these before and has gotten a little confused, too. Homonyms are one of the most common grammar mistakes people make. Let me break down some of the most common ones and how they are supposed to be used in a sentence.

Most common Homophones:

There/Their/They're

Example: "They're not happy that their drink order is still sitting on the bar over there."

"There" refers to a place.

"Their" is the possessive adjective used before a noun. As in, it or something belonging to them.

"They're" is the contraction of "they are."

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than/then

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bear/ bare

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it's/its

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brake/break

And so on...