HOMOPHONES : GETTING IT RIGHT!
Some of this material has been taken from the Word
Usage Book - a very old edition. I am not certain that this book
can still be purchased.
Homophones are words which sound the same or similar but which
are spelt differently and mean different things.
- Corect the following homophone mistakes identified in the
article. Correct each error in each sentence.The error is
in italics.
- One of my strengths is my ability to motivate the human been.
- I want to formerly apply for the position.
- Further hobbies include site seeing.
2. Choose the correct word for each sentence below from the
homophones in brackets. Put the other word in brackets in a
sentence of your own.
- We ______________ aboat to sail around the Whitsundays
during holidays. ( chartered, charted)
- The car ____________ wildly around the corner on two
wheels. ( careered, careened)
- Hand in the second _____________________ of your story
tomorrow , please. (draught, draft)
- Being hijacked was one of the most ______________
experiences of my life. ( bizarre, bazaar)
- The horse ________all the way from start to finish. ( led,
lead)
- When he _______against the wall, it collapsed. ( lent.
Leant)
- What ________have you been given in the school play? (
roll, role)
- I agree with everyone _________ you. ( accept except)
- The colour of your tie _______________that of your suit.
( complements, compliments)
- ____________and subtraction are the basic functions in
arithmetic( edition, addition)
- The following list contains some common words. For each
of these words, there is another in English that sounds
the same but means something quite different. See if you
can supply the homophone. Then, write the meaning next to
it.
- some
- pain
- know
- by
- principal
- Put each of the following words into a sentence.
Where, wear, its, it’s, whose, who’s, sure, shore,
allowed, aloud, there, their, they’re, too, to, two, whether,
weather, wether, write, right, wright, sight, site, cite.
- Prefixes, stems, suffixes.
Many English words are made up of three parts:
- a central part or stem which carries the meaning of the
word
- a short syllable fixed in front of the stem called the
prefix which can change the meaning of the word
- a short syllable fixed after the stem called a suffix
which can change the way the word functions in the
sentence
| Whole word |
Prefix |
Stem |
Suffix |
| reduction |
re |
duct |
ion |
| disputed |
dis |
put |
ed |
| unnnecessary |
un |
necess |
ary |
| conducted |
con |
duct |
ed |
| subjected |
sub |
ject |
ed |
| included |
in |
clud |
ed |
| non-injurious |
non |
injuri |
ous |
| excessive |
ex |
cess |
ive |
| perfection |
per |
fect |
ion |
See how many words you can make by combining these word parts;
take one from each column.
| Prefix |
Stem |
Suffix |
| re |
cess |
ion |
| de |
ject |
|
| dis |
cuss |
|
| in |
script |
|
| sub |
tract |
|
| con |
duct |
|
| ex |
press |
ive |
| per |
miss |
|
ABOUT THE PREFIXES AND
THEIR MEANING
| PREFIX/SUFFIX/ STEM |
MEANING |
WORDS |
| re |
back or again |
repeat |
| dis |
apart, separated |
sissimilar |
| un |
negative sense |
unnatural |
| in |
in or into or within |
inside |
| non |
not |
non-flammable |
| sub |
under |
submarine |
| co |
together |
companion |
| ex(e) |
out of , or former |
emit, ex-champion |
| |
|
|
| duc |
leading |
conductor |
| ject |
throwing |
projection |
| cess |
going, moving |
process |
| per |
through, thoroughly, very |
perfect |
MEANING OF WORDS IN THE WORD USAGE BOOK ASSIGNMENT 1 - 2
- converse - opposite and reverse
- pursue - to follow
- discreet - subtle and careful about what you reveal
- prudent - careful
- deference - respect, compliance with the wishes of
another
- eminent - prominent, very well respected
- conspicuous - clearly visible and noticeable
- sidle - to move in a furtive or stealthy manner
- compel - to force
- chassis - the steel frame, wheels and mechanical parts of
a motor vehicle