Homophones are two or more words that sound the same (or approximately the same) but differ in
spelling (or other
technicalities like their meanings and where they're derived from). Some
grammar books will refer to these as
homonyms, but the difference is that homonyms actually look the same on the paper, they just mean different things, like read (to read, present tense) and read (have/has read, past tense) or place (a location) and place (an action, to put). Here I will concentrate on homophone confusion and list many frequently confused sets.
The six most often confused:
its: possessive form of it
it's: contraction of it is
their: possessive form of they
they're: contraction of they are
there: in that place
to: toward
too: also, very
two: the number after one
whose: possessive form of who
who's: contraction of who is
your: possessive form of you
you're: contraction of you are
Some others that get honorable mentions:
accept: to receive
except: to leave out
advice: a recommendation
advise: to recommend
affect: a verb, to influence; or a noun, an emotion
effect: a verb, to make happen; or a noun, a result
all ready: prepared
already: by this time
allude: to refer
elude: to avoid
allusion: indirect reference
illusion: false idea or appearance
ascent: movement up
assent: agreement
bare: naked, uncovered
bear: a verb, to carry, endure; or a noun, an animal
board: piece of lumber
bored: uninterested
brake: to stop
break: to smash
capital: seat of government, or uppercase letter
capitol: government building
complement: to make complete
compliment: to praise
conscience: feeling of right and wrong
conscious: aware
council: an assembly
counsel: to advise
desert: a noun, a dry sandy terrain; or a verb, to abandon
dessert: last part of a meal
elicit: to draw out
illicit: illegal
eminent: distinguished
immanent: inherent
imminent: impending
fair: just, or light-complexioned, or a festive atmosphere
fare: a charge for transportation
gorilla: an ape
guerilla: a soldier
hare: an animal
hair: thin fur on the head or body
hear: to perceive by ear
here: in this place
heard: past tense of hear
herd: a noun, group of animals; or a verb, to group the animals
hole: an opening
whole: entire
lead: a noun, a metal; or a verb, to go before
led: past tense of lead
loose: not tight
lose: fail to win, or misplace
passed: past tense of pass
past: after, beyond
patience: toleration of time-consuming or unpleasant circumstances
patients: persons under medical care
peace: absence of war
piece: a part of something
peak: a summit, or high point
pique: to arouse or provoke
presence: attendance
presents: gifts
principal: school administrator
principle: a basic truth or law
scene: setting, part of a play
seen: past tense of see
stationary: standing still
stationery: writing paper
threw: past tense of throw
through: finished, or by means of
waist: part of the body
waste: to squander
weak: feeble, not strong
week: seven-day period
weather: climatic conditions
whether: which of two
which: what or that
witch: magick user or storybook sorcerer
This definitely isn't a complete list but you can feel free to /msg me with more you'd like to add.
This was excerpted and expanded from my version of The Scribner Handbook for Writers, ©1995 by DiYanni and Hoy.