• 120 words
  • Checked October 2026

Spelling Words With Homophones and Homonyms

Homophones spelling words in pairs and threes: hear the sentence, then type the spelling that fits it.

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The 10 words of this list. Add or change any. For your own list, press Clear first.

For a sentence, put it after a colon: rain: The rain fell all day. Up to 40 words.

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List 1: their, to, your and its

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.theirThe players left their bags on the bench.
  2. 2.thereThe cups go there, on the top shelf.
  3. 3.they'reI think they're running late today.
  4. 4.toTape the poster to the classroom door.
  5. 5.tooThese boots are too tight.
  6. 6.twoShe has two brothers.
  7. 7.yourIs this your umbrella by the door?
  8. 8.you'reCall me when you're ready to leave.
  9. 9.itsThe tree lost its last leaf.
  10. 10.it'sHurry, it's starting to pour.

Made at homeroomtools.com

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Each word is read aloud, then used in a sentence. Type what you hear. The marks come at the end.

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Accents do not count: café may be typed as cafe, and the marks show how it is written.

Only voices built into this device are used, so the words are not sent to a speech service to be read. With no voice, a person reads the words from the last page of the test sheet.

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The words are mixed from the lists you tick, so a review test needs a read-aloud voice.

Next step Test your own sound-alike pairsMore sound-alikes in the 4th grade lists

All 120 words

List 1: their, to, your and its 10

  • it's Hurry, it's starting to pour.
  • its The tree lost its last leaf.
  • their The players left their bags on the bench.
  • there The cups go there, on the top shelf.
  • they're I think they're running late today.
  • to Tape the poster to the classroom door.
  • too These boots are too tight.
  • two She has two brothers.
  • you're Call me when you're ready to leave.
  • your Is this your umbrella by the door?

List 2: an apostrophe makes the difference 10

  • aisle The cereal is in the next aisle.
  • he'll He says he'll call after practice.
  • heal The cut will heal in a week.
  • heel My shoe rubbed a blister on my heel.
  • I'll I think I'll have the soup.
  • isle They sailed to a tiny isle.
  • we've I think we've met before.
  • weave Spiders weave webs between the posts.
  • who's Tell me who's bringing the snacks.
  • whose Whose turn is it to feed the fish?

List 3: short pairs 10

  • for This card is for my teacher.
  • four The table has four wobbly legs.
  • main The main office is down the hall.
  • mane Burrs were tangled in the horse's mane.
  • meat The butcher wrapped the meat in paper.
  • meet Let's meet at the front gate.
  • tail The puppy chased its own tail.
  • tale Grandpa told a tale about a giant fish.
  • tea She poured hot tea into a mug.
  • tee The golfer set the ball on a tee.

List 4: two ways to write one vowel 10

  • pail She carried a pail of oats to the barn.
  • pale Her pale gray kitten hid under the sofa.
  • scene The last scene of the play is funny.
  • seam The seam of my sleeve split.
  • seem You seem tired this morning.
  • seen Have you seen my keys?
  • sole A pebble stuck in the sole of my boot.
  • soul Not a soul was in the park.
  • stair The top stair creaks.
  • stare It is rude to stare at people.

List 5: sets of three and two pairs 10

  • cent The stamp went up by one cent.
  • days The fair runs for nine days.
  • daze He wandered off the field in a daze.
  • raise We will raise the flag at eight.
  • rays The sun's rays warmed the porch.
  • scent The hound picked up the scent of a rabbit.
  • sent I sent the letter on Monday.
  • vain We searched in vain for the missing sock.
  • vane The weather vane points north.
  • vein A blue vein showed on her wrist.

List 6: one of the pair ends in ed 10

  • bald The bald eagle has a white head.
  • bawled The baby bawled until lunch.
  • find Did you find the key under the mat?
  • fined The driver was fined for speeding.
  • mind Keep the rule in mind while you play.
  • mined Coal was once mined in these hills.
  • side The barn's red side faces the road.
  • sighed She sighed and closed the book.
  • wade The kids wade in up to their knees.
  • weighed The vet weighed the puppy.

List 7: one of the pair ends in s 10

  • brews Dad brews coffee at six.
  • bruise The fall left a bruise on my knee.
  • chews My puppy chews on old shoes.
  • choose Each camper may choose one craft.
  • clause Each clause has a subject and a verb.
  • claws The kitten sharpened its claws.
  • genes Twins share many of the same genes.
  • guise The wolf came in the guise of a sheep.
  • guys The guys on the team carpool.
  • jeans My jeans have a hole in the knee.

List 8: one easy word, one hard 10

  • cheap The sunglasses were cheap.
  • cheep We heard the chicks cheep in the barn.
  • creak The old stairs creak at night.
  • creek Frogs croak along the creek at dusk.
  • foul The batter hit a foul ball.
  • fowl Ducks and geese are fowl.
  • hall Our lockers line the hall.
  • haul Trucks haul gravel to the site.
  • team Our team wears green.
  • teem The ponds teem with tadpoles in May.

List 9: one or two letters change 10

  • dual The truck has dual rear wheels.
  • duel The two chess stars met in a duel.
  • flair She has a flair for drawing.
  • flare The hikers lit a flare for help.
  • idle The bus sat idle in the lot.
  • idol The singer is my sister's idol.
  • lain The book had lain unopened for years.
  • lane Swimmers stay in their own lane.
  • lessen Earplugs lessen the roar of the engines.
  • lesson Today's swim lesson was moved indoors.

List 10: more pairs 10

  • board Nail the board across the gap in the fence.
  • bored I was bored on the long drive.
  • cellar Jars of jam line the cellar shelves.
  • hoarse I was hoarse after cheering.
  • horse The horse trotted to the fence.
  • naval The naval base is near the harbor.
  • navel A navel orange has no seeds.
  • seller The seller lowered the price.
  • stake Tie the tomato plant to a stake.
  • steak The steak sizzled in the pan.

List 11: a silent letter 10

  • air Cold air leaked under the door.
  • colonel The colonel saluted the troops.
  • heir The oldest child was heir to the farm.
  • kernel One kernel of corn did not pop.
  • knead Knead the dough for ten minutes.
  • need We need two more chairs.
  • rap A sharp rap on the window startled us.
  • ring The phone began to ring.
  • wrap I wrap my sandwich in wax paper.
  • wring Wring the mop before you hang it up.

List 12: longer words 10

  • ceiling A fan hangs from the ceiling.
  • currant I ate a currant bun.
  • current The river current is strong here.
  • pedal My foot slipped off the pedal.
  • peddle They peddle fruit from a cart.
  • principal The principal handed out the diplomas.
  • principle The lever works on a simple principle.
  • sealing She is sealing the envelope.
  • stationary The stationary bike stays in the garage.
  • stationery She wrote on pink stationery.

How it works

Every word here sounds like another word on the same list: 120 words in 12 lists, from their, there and they're to stationary and stationery. The sentence read with each word fits only one spelling.

Read the full guide

How the test tells a pair apart

The sentence decides. For sole the test reads A pebble stuck in the sole of my boot, so soul is wrong: the results say That word sounds the same, then show the sentence. Its and it's get a line about the apostrophe instead. I'll in List 2 needs its capital I while Capitals count is checked, and each contraction needs its apostrophe.

What the twelve lists hold

Lists 1 and 2 have the famous sets and the contractions (its, it's; whose, who's). Lists 3 to 5 have short pairs and sets of three (cent, scent, sent). Lists 6 and 7 pair a word with an ed or s ending (fined, find; claws, clause). Lists 8 to 12 have harder pairs (haul, hall; wring, ring).

  • Stationery with an e is paper, like envelope; stationary with an a stays in place.
  • Principle and rule both end in le; the principal is a person.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a homophone and a homonym?

Homophones sound alike and are spelled differently, such as meet and meat. Homonyms, strictly, share both sound and spelling, such as bat the animal and bat the club; many people use the word for any sound-alikes. Every set here is homophones.

Which homophones come in threes?

Six sets: their, there and they're; to, too and two; aisle, isle and I'll; heal, heel and he'll; cent, scent and sent; vain, vane and vein.

Do these pairs sound the same in every accent?

In most American speech, yes. Wiktionary lists each set as sounding alike and notes that a few, such as horse and hoarse or for and four, are still said differently in some accents.

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