Learning to spell correctly means you’re more likely to be understood. You can improve your confidence by reading widely and learning to use spelling strategies.
Homophones are words that sound identical but have different spellings and meanings. Finding ways to remember which one to use is helpful, as getting these wrong can really confuse a reader.
Here are some common examples accompanied by sentences. Write your own sentences to practise using the correct spelling.
witch/which
Which witch is which?
too/two/to
She had two owls.
He is going to work.
I like you too.
sight/site
The sight of the new site for the school made her smile.
through/threw
He threw the ball through the window.
whether, weather
Whether or not we go surfing tomorrow, depends on the weather.
they’re/their/there
Their house is over there.
They’re leaving tomorrow.
break/brake
She had to break the biscuit and share it.
He pulled the brake hard to stop the car.
right/write
You have the right to write whatever you want.
waist/waste
He tied the belt around his waist.
The waste went in the bin.
where/wear/were
Where will you wear that t-shirt?
Were you at school today?
coarse/course
The course was difficult.
The cloth was coarse and uncomfortable.
its/it’s
It’s Saturday.
The dog scratched its ear.
stare/stair
She gave her sister a mean stare.
She sat on the bottom stair.
weak/week
That week she felt quite weak.
so/sew/sow
The gardener had to sow more seeds that day.
She was thirsty so she drank some water.
He learned to sew a hem.
by/bye/buy
She decided to buy a new phone.
The phone was by the cup.
As she left, she turned to say, ‘Bye.’
tail/tale
His favourite tale was about the tail of a donkey.
bored/board
Everyone was bored by the writing on the board.
piece/peace
A sense of peace came over the room.
There was only one piece of cake left.
serial/cereal
She ate cereal for breakfast and watched her favourite serial on the television.
aloud/allowed
No one was allowed to speak aloud.
flour/flower
The flour was ground by stone.
The flower smelled sweet.
sent/scent/cent
She sent them away with no more than a cent.
The scent was strong.
in/inn
They stayed at the inn.
He was in love.
It is useful to think of ways to remember the correct homophone for your sentence. You might like to use pictures or, as with your spellings, you could make up a rhyme or mnemonic to help you.
For example:
To/too/two
To – remember just the one 'o' to get from one place to another.
Too – means 'as well as'. Remember the spelling by thinking that it has ‘toooooooooooo’ many ‘o’s.
Two – remember this by thinking of the ‘w’ (double u) meaning ‘2’.
Aloud/allowed
Remember that if you’re speaking something aloud, it will be ‘loud’