Spellings | Meanings |
a lot/allot | much/distribute |
ad/add | notice/put together |
ads/adds/adze | notices/puts together/type of axe |
aid/aide | help/assistant |
ail/ale | trouble (verb)/beer |
air/heir | atmospheric gas/inheritor |
aisle/isle/I’ll | corridor/island/I will |
all ready/already | everything set/by a certain time |
all together/altogether | everyone in the same place/absolutely |
all/awl | totally/piercing tool |
allowed/aloud | permitted/out loud |
alter/altar | change/church table |
ant/aunt | insect/parent’s sister or brother’s wife |
arc/ark | part of circle/Biblical boat |
assent/ascent | agreement/rise |
assistance/assistants | help/helper |
ate/eight | consumed/8 |
aural/oral | to do with hearing/to do with mouths |
away/aweigh | off/up (eg anchors aweigh) |
ay/aye/eye/I | yes/yes/organ of sight/1st person |
bail/bale | scoop water out/jump out |
bait/bate | food on hook/hold (eg bated breath) |
ball/bawl | sphere/ |
band/banned | group/illegal |
bard/barred | poet/banned |
bare/bear | naked/tolerate or grizzly |
baron/barren | lord/arid |
base/bass | foundation/low note |
be/bee | exist/flying insect |
beach/beech | sandy area/type of tree |
beat/beet | hit/beetroot |
beau/bow | male admirer/bend down or front |
bell/belle | musical instrument/pretty girl |
berry/bury | fruit/inter |
berth/birth | sleeping place/arrival of baby |
billed/build | invoiced/construct |
bite/byte | nibble/unit of data |
blew/blue | forced air/colour |
bloc/block | group of countries/cuboid |
boar/bore | wild pig/boring person |
board/bored | flat object/weary |
boarder/border | lodger/edge |
bode/bowed | imply/curved |
bolder/boulder | braver/rock |
born/borne | created/tolerated |
bough/bow | branch/bend down or front of ship |
boy/buoy | male child/floating marker |
brake/break | slow down/shatter |
breach/breech | gap/part of gun |
bread/bred | food made with yeast/brought up |
brewed/brood | fermented/family |
brews/bruise | ferments/scar |
bridle/bridal | leather strap/to do with brides |
broach/brooch | open (a question)/piece of jewellery |
browse/brows | look through/hair above the eyes |
but/butt | although/water tank |
buy/by/bye | purchase/by means of/goodbye |
cache/cash | hidden hoard/notes and coins |
callous/callus | heartless/blister |
cannon/canon | gun/collection of artistic works |
canvas/canvass | sail fabric/ask questions of |
capital/capitol | upper case or city/government building |
carat/carrot/caret/karat | weight/vegetable/arrow/share of gold |
carol/carrel | song/cubicle |
cast/caste | thrown/social class |
cede/seed | give up/reproductive unit |
ceiling/sealing | roof/making watertight |
cell/sell | part of body/exchange for money |
cellar/seller | basement/person selling |
censor/sensor | ban (film etc)/measurement device |
cent/scent/sent | US penny/perfume/dispatched |
cents/scents | US pennies/perfumes |
cereal/serial | breakfast dish/TV show |
cession/session | giving up/period of course |
chance/chants | luck/songs |
chased/chaste | pursued/like a virgin |
cheap/cheep | inexpensive/bird sound |
chews/choose | nibbles/select |
chilly/chilli | cold/hot food |
choir/quire | group of singers/unit of paper |
chord/cord | group of notes/string |
chute/shoot | disposal passage/take shot at goal |
cite/sight/site | quote/seeing/location |
clause/claws | paragraph/talons |
coarse/course | rough/track or route |
colonel/kernel | army rank/stone in fruit |
complement/compliment | go well with/say something nice |
coo/coup | sound of dove/revolution |
core/corps | centre/army unit |
correspondence/correspondents | letters/letter-writers |
council/counsel | governing body/advice |
councillor/counsellor | governor/advisor |
creak/creek | whine/stream |
crews/cruise | teams/voyage |
cue/queue | snooker tool/line of people waiting |
currant/current | dried fruit/electric flow |
cymbal/symbol | musical instrument/icon |
dam/damn | river barrier/damnation |
days/daze | 24-hour periods/confuse |
dear/deer | expensive/type of mammal |
defused/diffused | made safe/circulated |
desert/dessert | sandy zone/pudding |
dew/do/due | water on grass/finish/owed |
die/dye | expire/colour (verb) |
discreet/discrete | not talkative/separate |
doe/dough/doh | female dear/unbaked bread/oh, no |
done/dun | finished/grey-brown |
draft/draught | practise writing/on tap (eg beer) |
dual/duel | in two parts/fight with swords etc |
earn/urn/ern or erne | make money/vase/type of bird |
ewe/you/yew | female sheep/2nd person/type of tree |
faint/feint | lose consciousness/fake attack |
fair/fare | just/food |
fated/feted | destined/celebrated |
faun/fawn | rural god/beige or young deer |
faze/phase | disturb/stage |
feat/feet | achievement/plural of foot |
find/fined | seek/told to pay money |
fir/fur | type of tree/animal hide |
flair/flare | talent/bullet making bright light |
flea/flee | type of insect/run away |
flew/flu/flue | past tense of fly/influenza/chimney |
flocks/phlox | herds/type of plant |
flour/flower | ingredient for bread/plant |
for/four/fore | to the benefit of/4/in front |
fort/forte | castle/speciality |
forth/fourth | forwards/4th |
foul/fowl | disgusting/birds |
friar/fryer | monk/pan |
gait/gate | way of walking/door outside |
gene/jean | DNA unit/trousers |
gild/guild | cover in gold/organisation |
gilt/guilt | covered in gold/having done wrong |
gored/gourd | holed/fruit or water container |
gorilla/guerrilla | type of ape/freedom fighter |
grate/great | fireplace/grand |
grease/Greece | lubrication/a country |
groan/grown | moan/past tense of grow |
guessed/guest | past tense of guess/invitee |
hail/hale | celebrate/healthy |
hair/hare | strands growing on head/rabbit |
hall/haul | room/pull |
hangar/hanger | storage for aircraft/hook in wardrobe |
hay/hey | dried grass/oy |
heal/heel/he’ll | make well/back of foot/he will |
hear/here | listen/in this place |
heard/herd | past tense of hear/group of animals |
heed/he’d | pay attention to/he would or he had |
hertz/hurts | frequency unit/causes pain |
hew/hue/Hugh | cut/colour/a name |
hi/high | hello/raised |
higher/hire | more raised/rent |
him/hymn | a pronoun/religious song |
hoard/horde | collection/mass of people |
hoarse/horse | rough (of voices)/an animal |
hoes/hose | garden tools/tube |
hold/holed | keep or carry/past tense of hole |
hole/whole | space/entire |
holey/holy/wholly | with holes/sacred/completely |
hour/our | 60 minutes/a pronoun |
humorous/humerus | funny/arm bone |
idle/idol | lazy/religious statue |
illicit/elicit | illegal/draw out |
in/inn | inside/hotel |
instance/instants | example/moments |
intense/intents | fierce/purposes |
it’s/its | it is/belonging to it |
jam/jamb | fruit spread/door frame |
kernel/colonel | core/army rank |
knap/nap | crest/doze |
knead/kneed/need | mix dough/hit with knee/require |
knight/night | warrior/dark time |
knit/nit | fit together/egg of louse |
knot/not | tied rope/negative |
know/no/Noh | be aware of/negative/type of drama |
knows/nose | is aware of/facial feature |
laid/lade | past tense of lay/load ship |
lain/lane | past participle of lay/alley |
lay/lei | place/flower necklace |
leach/leech | leak/blood-sucking worm |
lead/led | heavy metal/past tense of lead |
leak/leek | drop out/vegetable |
leased/least | past tense of lease/superlative of less |
lee/lea | shadow of wind/meadow |
lessen/lesson | make less/teaching session |
levee/levy | embankment/tax |
liar/lyre | person who lies/musical instrument |
license/licence | permit (verb)/permission |
lichen/liken | mould/compare |
lie/lye | falsehood/alkali solution |
links/lynx | connections/wild cat |
load/lode | put into/vein of metal in ground |
loan/lone | lending/single |
locks/lox | secures/smoked salmon (American) |
loot/lute | money/musical instrument |
made/maid | created/young woman |
mail/male | post/masculine |
main/mane/Maine | chief/hair/state in USA |
maize/maze | corn/labyrinth |
manner/manor | way/lord’s house |
mantel/mantle | mentalpiece/coat |
marshal/martial | army rank/to do with war |
massed/mast | brought together/upright post on ship |
maybe/may be | perhaps/might be |
meat/meet/mete | type of food/get together/distribute |
medal/meddle | award/interfere |
metal/mettle | shiny material/spirit |
might/mite | may/tiny spider |
mince/mints | ground beef/plural of mint |
mind/mined | brain/dug up |
miner/minor/mynah | digger/junior/type of bird |
missed/mist | past tense of miss/fog |
moan/mown | groan/past participle of mow |
mode/mowed | way/past tense of mow |
moose/mousse | elk/foam |
morn/mourn | morning/regret |
muscle/mussel | part of body/sea creature |
mustard/mustered | spicy dressing/broughted together |
naval/navel | to do with the navy/belly button |
nay/neigh | no (dated)/sound of horse |
none/nun | not one/female monk |
oar/or/ore | blade/alternatively/metal source |
ode/owed | poem/due |
oh/owe/o | ah/have a debt of/oh (poetic) |
overseas/oversees | foreign/manages |
pail/pale | bucket/faint |
pain/pane | ache/window panel |
pair/pare/pear | couple/shave/type of fruit |
palate/palette/pallet | part of mouth/artist’s tray/platform |
passed/past | past tense of pass/in the past |
patience/patients | tolerance/people in hospital |
pause/paws | break/animal hands and feet |
pea/pee | vegetable/urinate |
peace/piece | harmony/bit |
peak/peek/pique | summit/look quickly/annoyance |
peal/peel | sound of bells/take skin off |
pearl/purl | precious stone/knitting stitch |
pedal/peddle | foot lever/sell |
pedalled/peddled | cycled/sold |
peer/pier | look carefully/jetty |
per/purr | for each/sound of a cat |
pi/pie | 3.14/dish topped with pastry |
plain/plane | unexciting/2D object |
pleas/please | requests (noun)/if it pleases you |
plum/plumb | type of fruit/measure water depth |
pole/poll | rod/election or survey |
pore/pour | concentrate on/flow |
practice/practise | rehearsal/rehearse |
pray/prey | talk to God/victim |
presence/presents | being somewhere/gifts |
prince/prints | son of monarch/printed photographs |
principal/principle | main/rule of conduct |
profit/prophet | money made/religious seer |
rack/wrack | wire tray/shipwreck |
rain/reign/rein | water from clouds/rule/control strap |
raise/rays/raze | lift/plural of ray/destroy |
rap/wrap | hit/pack up (eg a present) |
rapped/rapt/wrapped | past tense of rap/spellbound/past tense of wrap |
read/red | past tense of read/scarlet |
read/reed | study/type of plant |
real/reel | genuine/cylinder for fishing line etc |
reek/wreak | smell bad/cause |
rest/wrest | relax/wrench away |
retch/wretch | vomit/poor soul |
review/revue | look over/stage performance |
right/rite/write | correct/ritual/form Leopardtters |
ring/wring | sound of bell/squeeze out water |
road/rode/rowed | street/past tense of ride/past tense of row |
roe/row | female deer/use oars |
role/roll | part in play/type of bread |
root/route | part of plant/roads to take |
rose/rows | type of flower/tiers |
rote/wrote | repetition/past tense of write |
rough/ruff | coarse/Elizabethan collar |
rung/wrung | past tense of ring/squeezed water out |
rye/wry | cereal plant/mocking |
sail/sale | canvas propulsion/selling |
scene/seen | situation/past tense of see |
scull/skull | row alone/head of skeleton |
sea/see | ocean/be aware of |
seam/seem | sewn connection/appear |
seas/sees/seize | oceans/is aware of/grab |
serf/surf | agricultural worker/waves |
sew/so/sow | connect with thread/thus/plant |
shear/sheer | cut/complete |
shoe/shoo | footwear/chase away |
side/sighed | edge/past tense of sigh |
sighs/size | breathes out/dimensions |
slay/sleigh | kill/sled |
sleight/slight | deceptive skill/faint |
soar/sore | rise/painful |
soared/sword | past tense of soar/bladed weapon |
sole/soul | only/spirit |
some/sum | a few/total |
son/sun | male child/star in the sky |
staid/stayed | unadventurous/past tense of stay |
stair/stare | step/look hard |
stake/steak | wooden post/joint of meat |
stationary/stationery | motionless/writing materials |
steal/steel | run off with/metal compound |
step/steppe | stair/European plains |
stile/style | fence steps/manner |
straight/strait | not bending/narrow strip of water |
suite/sweet | hotel rooms/sugary |
summary/summery | brief account/to do with summer |
surge/serge | rush/type of cloth |
tacks/tax | nails/levy |
tail/tale | back end/story |
taught/taut | past tense of teach/tight |
tea/tee | meal/golf ball holder |
team/teem | group of players/swarm |
tear/tier | teardrop/row |
tern/turn | type of bird/go round a corner |
their/there/they’re | belonging to them/in that direction/they are |
theirs/there’s | the one belonging to them/there is |
threw/through | past tense of throw/in and out of |
thrown/throne | past participle of throw/royal chair |
thyme/time | type of herb/progress of days or years |
tic/tick | habit/mark (if correct) |
tide/tied | flow of water/past tense of tie |
to/too/two | towards/as well/2 |
toad/towed | frog/past tense of tow |
toe/tow | part of foot/pull |
told/tolled | past tense of tell/rang |
trussed/trust | bound (with rope)/belief |
vain/vane/vein | proud/fin/artery |
vale/veil | valley/lace face covering (for brides etc) |
vial/vile | test tube/evil |
wade/weighed | walk in water/past tense of weigh |
wail/whale | howl/type of ocean mammal |
waist/waste | middle of body/use carelessly |
wait/weight | delay or stay/mass |
waive/wave | give up/breaker |
ware/wear/where | pottery/put on clothes/which place |
way/weigh/whey | manner/measure weight/part of milk |
ways/weighs | manners/measures weight |
we/wee | pronoun/urination or little |
weak/week | feeble/seven days |
weather/whether | climatic conditions/if |
we’d/weed | we would or we had/unwanted plant |
we’ll/wheel | we will or we shall/round component |
wet/whet | liquid/sharpen |
we’ve/weave | we have/make cloth |
which/witch | pronoun/wizard |
while/wile | as/ruse or cunning plan |
whine/wine | whimper/alcoholic grape drink |
who’s/whose | who is or who has/of whom the |
wood/would | tree material/conditional marker |
yoke/yolk | part of plough/yellow part of egg |
yore/your/you’re | former times/belonging to you/you are |
you’ll/Yule | you will or you shall/Christmas |