Homophones

Homophones are words that are pronounced alike, may have the same spelling, but differ in meaning.

Acetic means of, containing or derived from acetic acid.

Ascetic means austere, abstainer, hermit, monk, etc.

Acetic acid has a sour taste.

He gave up all luxuries and led his life like an ascetic.

Confused Words

Brake and Break

Brake means to slow down, reduce speed, etc.

Break means to shatter, smash, crack, interval, gap, etc.

He had to put sudden brakes to avoid hitting the kid.

The kids broke the window glass.

The cops had to break the door to get in.

He took a break from work.

Confused Words

Scrap and Scrape

Scrap means bit, piece, fragment, cancel, abandon, etc.

Scrape means to rub, scratch, grate, etc.

She scribbled her address on a scrap of paper.

The live telecast plan was scrapped at the last moment.

He scraped the mud off his car tyres.

She scraped the carrots.

Confused Words

Rote and Wrote

Rote means by heart, memorize, routine, etc.

Wrote is the past tense of write.

The teacher asked the students to rote the poem.

He wrote his name and address in the form.

Confused Words

Pour and Pore

Pour means to spill, flow, dispense, transfer, etc.

Pore means hole, aperture, ponder, etc.

He poured the water into the jar.

The rain poured quite heavily.

The rock had many pores in it.

He pored over last night’s events.

Confused Words

Quite and Quiet

Quite means rather, somewhat, entirely, very, fully, etc.

Quiet means still, calm, silent, serene, gentle, peaceful, etc.

It’s quite hot outside.

He is quite rich.

He just wanted to have a quiet nap.

The kids were very quiet, which was rather unusual.

Confused Words

Pale and Pail

Pale means faint, dim, light, fade, colorless, etc.

Pail means a bucket, tub, container, etc.

She looked pale after she heard about the accident.

The curtains had pale patterns.

She dropped the pail of water.

The pail is too heavy to be carried by a single person.