Go to All About Homonyms

A

a very short little insignificant English word

eh an interrogative utterance
acts things done

ax chopping tool
ad short for advertisement

add short for addition
adds performs additions

ads more than one advertisement

adze axe-like tool
ade fruit beverage

aid to assist

aide an assistant
aerie eagle's nest

airy breezy
aero of aircraft

arrow slender, pointed shaft
affect to change

effect result
ail sick

ale beer
air stuff we breathe

are 1/100th of a hectare

e'er contraction of "ever"

ere eventually

err to make a mistake

heir one who will inherit
aisle walkway

I'll contraction of "I will"

isle island
all everything

awl pointed scriber
allowed permitted

aloud spoken
altar raised center of worship

alter to change
an a single instance

Ann a woman's name
ant insect

aunt parent's sister
ante preliminary bet

auntie sister of a parent
arc portion of a circle

ark vessel
ascent the climb

assent to agree
ate past tense of eat

eight the number base of octal
auger a drill

augur foretell
aught anything

ought should
aural of hearing

oral of the mouth
auricle external part of the ear

oracle seer
away distant

aweigh just clear of the bottom
awed in a state of wonder

odd not usual
aweful filled with awe

awful really bad

offal butchered entrails
aye naval affirmative

eye ocular organ

I oneself

B

bail bucket handle

bale bundle of hay
bailed pumping water out of a boat

baled to gather into a bale
bailee a person to whom goods are committed for custody or repair

bailey the outer wall of a castle

bailie a municipal officer in Scotland
bailer one who bails (water)

bailor a person that entrusts goods to a bailee

baler one who bales (hay)
bailing pumping water out of a boat

baling wire used to tie bales
bait to torment

bate to lessen
baited past tense of bait

bated past tense of bate
baiting tormenting

bating lessening
baize green felt

bays one or more enclosed arms of the ocean

beys one or more Turkish officials
bald hairless

balled carnal knowledge

bawled cried aloud
ball playful orb

bawl to cry
band a group

banned forbidden
bard a poet

barred enclosed by poles
bare naked

bear wild ursine
bark outer sheath of a tree

barque square-rigged sailing ship
baron minor royalty

barren unable to bear children
Barry a man's name

berry small fruit

bury to take under
basal forming the base

basil an herb
base the bottom support for anything

bass the lowest musical pitch or range
based supported

baste to swab with liquid during cooking
bases what baseball players like to steal

basis principal constituent of anything

basses many four-stringed guitars
bask to warm oneself pleasantly

basque tightfitting bodice or tunic (or, people of the Pyrenees)
bat a blind, flying rodent

batt a flat pad
baud bits per second

bawd brothel manager
bay an enclosed arm of the ocean

bey a Turkish official
be to exist

bee pollinating buzzer
beach where i want to be

beech a type of tree
bean a legume

been past tense of be
beat to hit

beet edible red root
beau male friend

bow a curve or bend; double-slipped reef knot
beaut slang for beauty, beautiful

butte steep sided hill
been past tense of be

bin a box or container
beer universally brewed comfort food

bier a temporary frame for a coffin
bel indian thorn tree

Bel Babylonian god

bell ding ding

belle beautiful woman
berth anchorage

birth your method of arrival
besot to get drunk

besought past tense of beseech
better superior

bettor one who bets
bight middle of a rope

bite a mouthful

byte eight bits
billed has a bill

build to construct
bit past tense of bite

bitt large cleat for tying up ships
blew past tense of blow

blue color of California sky
bloc an alliance

block square object
boar wild pig

Boer a South African of Dutch descent

boor tasteless buffoon

bore not interesting
board a plank

bored not interested
boarder lodger who gets meals, too

border perimeter
bode an omen

bowed curved
bold brave

bowled knocked over
bolder more courageous

boulder large rock
bole trunk

boll round seed pod

bowl dish
boos disparaging sounds from fans

booze whiskey
born brought into life

borne past participle of bear

bourn a small stream or boundary
borough township

burrow dig into the ground
bough tree branch

bow front of a ship; respectful bend
bouy navigational aid

boy male child
bra brassiere

braw well-groomed
braid a weave of three strands

brayed a donkey cried
braise cook with oil and water

brays loud, harsh cry
brake stopping device

break to split apart
breach to break through

breech the back part
bread a loaf

bred past tense of breed
brewed fermented

brood family
brews more than one beer

bruise a contusion
bridal pertaining to brides

bridle horse's headgear
broach to raise a subject

brooch an ornament fastened to clothes
brows multiple foreheads

browse grazing
bundt type of cake

bunt hit a pitch without swinging
burger meat sandwich

burgher merchant
bus large multi-passenger vehicle

buss a kiss
bussed kissed

bust head and shoulders sculpture
but excepting

butt the thick end
buy to purchase

by near

bye farewell
buyer one who purchases

byre a cow barn

C

cache hidden storage

cash legal tender
cached hidden away

cashed converted to legal tender
calendar chart of days

calender paper press
call to summon

caul amnionic membrane

col a mountain pass
caller one who calls

collar my cat has collar ID
can't contraction of "can not"

cant a bevel
cannon big gun

canon body of law
canter a moderate gallop

cantor singer
canvas rough cloth

canvass to examine thoroughly
capital most important

capitol center of government
carat unit of weight for precious stones, equal to 200 milligrams

caret proofreader's insertion mark

carrot edible orange root

karat one 24th part of otherwise pure gold
carol Christmas song

carrel study enclosure
carpal a bone of the carpus

carpel a pistil
cast to throw

caste a social class
caster one who throws

castor beaver's smelly gland
cause generative force

caws sounds of crows
cay a low island

key opens locks

quay a wharf
cedar an evergreen tree

seeder one who broadcasts seeds
cede to give

seed part of a plant from which a new one grows
ceding giving

seeding planting
ceiling top of the room

sealing to close a package or envelope
cell a small room

sell to exchange for money
cellar under a house

seller one who sells
censer incense dish

censor bad people who fear knowledge

sensor a device which detects
census numbering

senses faculties
cent one hundredth of a dollar

scent an aroma

sent dispatched
cents hundredths of a dollar

scents many things to smell

sense detection equipment
cere waxy fleshy covering at the base of the upper beak in some birds

sear to scorch

seer a prophet

sere natural succession of plant or animal communities
cereal grains

serial numbers in sequence
Ceres Roman Goddess of agriculture

series a sequence of things
cession giving up

session a group sitting
chalk calcareous earthy substance

chock wedge to keep wheels from rolling
chance happenstance

chants more than one litany
chard spinach-like vegetable

charred burnt
chased quickly followed

chaste virginal
check a tic mark

Czech from Czechoslovakia
chews masticating

choose to select
Chile a South American country

chili dried pod of red pepper

chilly uncomfortably cool
choir church singers

quire the twentieth part of a ream of paper
choler yellow bile

collar around your neck
choral by a chorus

coral marine polyp skeleton
chorale a choir

corral a pen for horses
chord three tones in harmony

cord very light rope

cored divested of its central part
chute inclined trough

shoot to project an object
cite to refer to

sight vision

site a location
cited referenced

sighted visually identified

sited located
cites past tense of cite

sights tourist rationale

sites more than one location
clack a chattering sound

claque a group hired to applaud, sycophants
Claus fat, jolly guy with presents

clause contractual unit

claws big fingernails
clew sheet cringle on a sail

clue a hint
click ticking noise

clique exclusive group
climb ascending

clime climate
close to shut

clothes garments
coal black mineral

cole plants in the crucifer family
coaled supplied with coal

cold not supplied with coal
coarse rough

course path of travel
coat wear it for warmth

cote small animal shed
coax persuade

cokes more than one soft drink
cocks more than one male bird

cox a coxswain

Cox a variety of eating apple
coddling tenderly treating

codling small, unripe apple
coffer a strongbox; decorative, sunken ceiling panels

cougher one who coughs
coin money

quoin corner stone
colonel military officer

kernel seed
complacence self-satisfaction

complaisance willingness to please
complacent self-satified

complaisant willing to please
complement allotment

compliment encomium
conch marine mollusk

conk blow to the head
coo a soft murmuring sound

coup a successful stroke
copes gets along with adversity

copse a stand of trees
copped swiped

copt a native Egyptian to a Roman
cops police officers

copse a small wood
core inner part

corps body
cosign to sign in addition

cosine sine of the complement
council group of leaders

counsel advisor
craft a manual occupation

kraft a strong paper made from wood pulp
crater impact hole

krater ancient Greek jar
Crays more than one supercomputer

craze sensation needed to buy more than one supercomputer
creak to squeak

creek small stream
crewed served by a crew

crude coarse
crewel embroidery yarn

cruel merciless
crews more than one crew

cruise a sea journey
cue a signal

Kew home of the famous English gardens

queue a waiting line (another famous English-ism)
currant small berry

current of the present
curser one who swears

cursor on-screen positional indicator
cygnet a young swan

signet an authenticating seal
cymbal percussive brass dish

symbol a representation

D

dam holds back water

damn a curse
dammed prevented from flowing

damned cursed
darn to mend

darne a fish steak
days more than one day

daze to bewilder
dear beloved

deer Bambi
dew morning condensation

do to perform

due payable
die to become dead

dye coloring agent
died passed away

dyed colored
dies passing away

dyes colors
dine to eat

dyne unit of energy
dire desperate

dyer one who dyes
disc a phonograph record

disk