This list is to help clear ‘some’ of the confusion to the use of words that sound and/or spelt the same way.
If you think of any words that should be in this list because I’ve missed them, then message me with your finds and I will add them with a ‘submitted by’ comment.
Please note: I’m Australian so
Part 1 with A to O can be found here.
Common Sounding/Spelt Words – P:
Pail: (USA) A bucket. She used a pail to get some water from the stream.
Pale: To fade. She went pale from fright.
Pain: A bodily sensation. The pain in my hand doesn’t seem to be getting any less.
Pane: A framed sheet of glass. The pane of glass is a new one after a tree smashed through it after last week’s storm.
Pair: Two,
Pare: To shave off. I need to pare these apples for stewing.
Pear: A fruit. “On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: A partridge in a pear tree.”
Passed: The past tense of pass. He’d passed the post office three times before finally going inside.
Past: Just gone or elapsed. Yesterday is now in the past and tomorrow is yet to come.
Patience: The capacity to wait or bear something without complaint. He’s a pain in the proverbial and she has the patience of a saint to put up with him like she does.
Patients: Multiple people in need of medical attention. The doctor made his rounds,
Paw: An animal’s foot. We followed the paw prints of the lion in the hopes of getting a shot for our vacation album.
Poor: Lack of. What makes a person poor? Is it a lack of money, possessions or love?
Pore: A tiny opening on the skin. The pore was clogged with dirt and became a pimple.
Pore: To study something closely. With exams tomorrow he pored over his textbooks to ensure a passing grade.
Pour: The act of spilling. What I would like to do right now is to pour myself a glass of fruit juice.
Pause: To halt in mid-action. He paused at the round-about to make sure there were no other vehicles.
Paws. Feet of animals. The cat landed on all four paws after falling out of the tree.
Peace: Freedom from disturbance. The husband at work, the kids at school. Ahhh. the peace
Piece: A part of something. If I put this piece in here, then that should complete that section of the puzzle.
Pea: A vegetable. Peas and carrots are a lovely colour contrast on the plate.
Pee: To urinate. “Where’s ya toilet? I so need to pee.”
Peak: The top or point of something. The mountain peak was hidden by the clouds; it was that high.
Peek: To look at. “Oh, come on. Please let me have a peek. I won’t tell what I saw, honest.
Pique: Resentment
Pique: To arouse either anger or curiosity.
Peal: A loud prolonged sound. Her peal of laughter sounded more like a hyena.
Peel: To remove from. Instructions: Just peel the backing off then stick it wherever you want.
Pearl: Gem from an oyster. Natural pearls are hard to come by now because they take so long to create; so man found a way to create them faster.
Purl: A basic knitting stitch. Instructions: Purl 5, knit 3, purl 5, knit 6.
Pedal: A lever. Put the pedal to the metal Baby.
Peddle: To push or sell. He peddled as fast as he could but still, his bicycle was too slow; The gypsy tried to peddle her
Petal: Any brightly coloured leaves of the head of a flower. I could tell the flower was dying because its petals were falling off.
Peer: To look at. I peered at him from behind a shrub so he wouldn’t see me doing so.
Pier: A structure over water. The pier is old and something of a landmark now, but it’s to be avoided during storms as waves crashed over it.
Personal: Of or affecting a person. “I’m sorry but that item is personal to me.”
Personnel: A collection of people. The company’s personnel were all made redundant as the business went bust.
Plain: Ordinary. She was so plain, sometimes thought she was ugly.
Plain: An expanse of mostly flat land. Looking out over the plains of green grass, the horizon was a long way away.
Plane: A sky vehicle. The plane taxied the runway
Pole: A long thin cylinder. The light pole wavered in the strong wind.
Poll: The casting or recording of votes. The polling booths were now open to see which candidate would win.
Pray: A way to speak to God. And the people pray; hoping
Prey: The hunted.
Principal: A chief. Because she spoke against the teacher she was sent to the principal’s office.
Principle: A rule. I can not think of a sentence to use this in properly.
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Common Sounding/Spelt Words – Q:
These next two are listed because they have exactly the same letters but the ‘e’ is in a different spot and people tend to get them mixed up. If it isn’t just a simple typo, that is 🙂
Quiet: No noise. It was so quiet I couldn’t even hear any birds.
Quite: Wholly or completely. “Oh, I quite agree with you there. No argument from me on that count.”
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Common Sounding/Spelt Words – R:
Rain: Water from the clouds. If it keeps raining then there will be flooding.
Reign: To rule over. The King’s reign was long and harsh as far as the peasants were concerned.
Rein: Line fastened to a bit to control an animal and an action of pulling on the reins to stop an animal. He tried to rein the horse in before it could bolt or throw him off.
Read: To look at and understand words. I love novels; I can read through one a day.
Reed: A tall grass in wet areas. The swamp was so thick with reeds it was hard to move through them.
Read: Past tense of read. Heh, I read that book ages ago.
Red: A colour. We use the colour red to indicate danger or to stop.
Real: Not artificial. “Oh man, this is the real deal. An honest to goodness real diamond.”
Reel: A spool for thread, film or tape. When one thinks about going to the cinema one can’t help but think of movie reels.
Riffle: To go through. He riffled through her papers trying to find the house and contents insurance policy.
Rifle: A long
Right: Direction. “If we turn right here, we will get there sooner.”
Right: An affirmation of correctness. “Yes, yes, you’re right. Don’t know how I missed it.”
Rite: A ceremonial act or words. The rites to prove him a man were
Write: To form characters, words on a surface. He sat there staring. After a few minutes, he started to write that dreaded letter to his brother.
Road: A paved open way for vehicles. “Just keep your eyes on the road while you drive because I don’t want to end up in a ditch somewhere.”
Rode: Past tense of ride. He rode that horse so hard it practically collapsed from under him.
Role: To play a part. “They want you for the role of Romeo.”
Roll: To move something along end over end. That barrel is too large to pick up so I’ll just roll it over there to get it out of the way.
Ruin: Buildings fallen apart either to neglect or deliberate destruction. The ruins were that of an old castle, not that much was left of it, and it was said to be haunted.
Rune: The characters of a language like an alphabet. She looked at the runes on the stones and thought they looked ancient.
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Common Sounding/Spelt Words – S:
Sail: An expanse of fabric to catch the wind. Although all sails were unfurled and ready, there was no wind for them to catch and billow.
Sale: The act of or an instance of selling. As the items were scanned the checkout operator rang up the sale.
Scene: Imagined or real, a setting. The scene of the crime was a strange one. Even his partner, a ten-year veteran didn’t understand it.
Seen: Past tense of see. I know I have seen her before but I can’t work out where.
Scent: A smell. The scent was enticing and it set her stomach growling for food.
Sent: Past tense of send. It was sent yesterday. See? This is the postage receipt.
Sea: Body of water. “Oh no, not going out on the boat. I get seasick.”
See: To look. That horrid man; I can still see him.
Sew: To mend or make garments. “Mum, can you sew this button on for me please as I need this shirt for school tomorrow?”
So: In this way; thus. “Position the picture just so because that is the way she wants it.”
Sow: To scatter seeds onto the earth. Time to sow the new crop of corn.
Sow: (While spelt the same,
Sewn: Past part of sew. Well, I’d sewn the button back on and his shirt is ready for tomorrow.
Sown: Past part of sow. Thank goodness the corn has been sown for another season.
Shoe: Footwear. Which shoes will I wear today? The red pair or the black pair?
Shoo: To chase something away. He made a shooing motion to send me out of the kitchen.
Sight: The process of seeing. I had him in my line of sight then this truck drove between us and I lost him.
Site: A location, an area. “The site of the murder is just down this alley Sir.”
Sole: The bottom of foot or shoe, the only one. The ground was so hot that the sole of my left foot blistered. I was surprised to see that blister was the sole one I had.
Soul: The spiritual part of a human being. Many believe that when they die their soul will go to heaven.
Son: A male child. My son is a grown man now, but I still worry about him.
Sun: The celestial body our planet o
Stair: A flight of steps. The staircase was
Stare: A long look. “I swear, if he keeps staring at me, I hit him.”
Stake: A piece of wood or metal. He shoved the stake as hard as he could into the vampire’s chest so it could get past the ribs and into the heart.
Steak: A piece of meat. “I would like to order a Steak Diane please.” (if you don’t know what a Steak
Steal: To take what isn’t yours. “I saw you steal that. You had no right to take it if you couldn’t pay for it.”
Steel: Metal. It says here that this fork is made of stainless steel.
Storey: The floors of a building. The little boy looked up at the skyscraper. He thought it looked bigger than 120 storeys high.
Story: (USA) The floors of a building. The little boy looked up at the skyscraper. He thought it looked bigger than 120 stories high.
Story: Written or spoken words to tell of an event. My favourite story is a fantasy based one. The word ‘stories’ is the multiple of tales told.
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Common Sounding/Spelt Words – T:
Tail: The flexible extension of the rear end of an animal. The cat’s tail swished this way and that rather violently letting all know of its agitation.
Tale: A story. “This is a tale of a young man who became lost in the woods and what he did to survive.”
Tear (pronounced-
Tear (pronounced-teer): A drop of liquid from the eye. Despite her making no sound, I could see the tears streaming down her face as the only indicator she was crying.
Tier (pronounced-teer): Rank, level. The tier structure looked like a staircase.
Their: Belonging to them. It is their right to do what they want.
There: Direction. “If you go over there, you will then find what you are looking for.”
They’re: Contraction of ‘they are’. “Oh, they’re going to the movies tonight.”
Threw: Past tense of throw. He threw that ball so hard I thought he would dislocate his shoulder.
Through: In one side out the other. Not knowing what was in there, he went through the door.
Thru: (USA) informal – In one side out the other. Not knowing what was in there, he went thru the door.
Tire: To wear out. I tire so easily these days, I’m napping by lunchtime.
Tire: (USA) Wheel of a car. The tire on my car just went flat.
Tyre: Wheel of a car. The tyre on my car just went flat.
To: Used to
Too: Something that is excessive, extra. I can’t believe he did that! That was just way too over the top for my liking. Anyway, I wonder if Terry will be there too.
Two: This is the number 2 written out. “Oh yeah, I saw the two of them go that way.”
Toe: The digits on the end of a foot. Tears streamed down my face after I had kicked my toe on the big box.
Tow: To pull something along behind you. After attaching the rope to Johnny’s car, I hopped in mine to start towing his to the local service station.
Tortoise: A shelled reptile with legs similar in design to those of an elephant. The tortoise moves in a slow, plodding manner across the dusty ground.
Turtle: A shelled reptile with flippers for limbs. The turtle moving its flippers on the sand is not as graceful as when it is in the water.
Troop: Group of military personnel. The troop of soldiers made camp for the night.
Troupe: Group of performers. The travelling theatrical troupe had just arrived in town for their show tomorrow night.
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Common Sounding/Spelt Words – V:
Vain: Excessive pride in one’s appearance. While she was attractive, she was so vain about it that people around her found it annoying.
Vane: An object that spins on its axis by wind or water. The weather vane on the roof of the house was spinning so fast it looked like it was about to take flight.
Vein: Tubular vessels blood travels through. The veins in a body carries de-oxygenated blood back to the heart.
Vial: A small closable vessel for holding liquid. The wizard handed me phial smaller than my little finger; it was filled with a purple liquid of some sort.
Vile: Something unpleasant. The strong stench of rotting food was so vile it almost made me sick.
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Common Sounding/Spelt Words – W:
Wail: To cry with voice. He wailed so loudly for his dead wife, it brought out the neighbours to see what was wrong with him.
Whale: Sea creature. One
Waist: Middle of the torso. He looked like a power pole, with no obvious waist; he was just straight up and down.
Waste: To discard. While she hated to waste food, she was so full she couldn’t eat another mouthful.
Wait: To pause. “Wait, wait…” She cried as she ran for the bus.
Weight: A heaviness. The weight of this table requires two people to move it.
Want: The desire to have. She wanted those shoes because they matched her new dress perfectly.
Ware: Manufactured items. “Wares for sale. Who’ll buy my wares?”
Wear: To put on. I think I will wear this hat today.
Watt: A unit of power. I
What: Used to
While: During the time of. “Here I am slaving away, while you’re out and about having a good time!”
Wile: Cunning, deceitful. Oh, he was wily. That fox seemed to know that trap was there.
Who’s: Contraction of who is, who has. “I wonder who’s going to turn up to this party tonight?”; “Who’s gotten the pizza this time?”
Whose: Possessor of object or action. “Whose hat does this belong to?”; “Whose turn is it to bat next?”
Will: Used to express an action to come. “Will you get the sugar while I get the milk?”
Will: Mental thought process. I will do this no matter how much it hurts.
Will: A document. The lawyer just showed me Mum’s last will and testament.
Wood: From a tree. The coffee table was just a simple teak wood;
Would: The past tense of will. “If I got the milk, would you get the sugar?”
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Common Sounding/Spelt Words – Y:
Yaw: Side-to-side movement. I can not think of a sentence to use this in properly.
Your: Belonging to someone. “I believe this is your hat. Please don’t leave it lying around the place.”
You’re: Contraction of you are. “You’re so in deep trouble for breaking that.”
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I hope you found this two
Part 1 with A to O can be found here.