HOMONYMS TO KNOW FOR SPELLING BEE
1. ceiling
I wasn’t able to help my uncle paint because I wasn’t able to reach the ceiling.
2. sealing
Are they finished sealing the driveway with tar yet?
3. cereal
Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs are my favorite breakfast cereals.
4. serial
There’s an article in the paper that they caught the serial killer.
5. coarse
I don’t like wearing wool sweaters because they are so coarse and scratchy.
6. course
Were you able to sign up for the history course you wanted?
7. colonel
My friend’s brother who is in the army was promoted to the rank of colonel.
8. kernel
There wasn’t an unpopped kernel in the popcorn bag.
9. complement
The dark gray and black of carpet and furniture complement the soft blue of the walls.
10. compliment
I always feel so good after someone gives me a compliment about something I
did or helped them with.
11. council
I am going to take the class’s ideas for Dress Down Day to the Student Council.
12. counsel
The lawyer was hired to counsel the teens who were being harassed for giving
witness statements to the police.
13. herd
The whole herd of cows was frightened at the sound of thunder and began mooing.
14. heard
I hadn’t heard until I was already dressed that we had a snow day and no school.
15. horse
Have you ever ridden a horse bare back, that is, without a saddle?
16. hoarse
The teacher was unable to speak because she had bronchitis and as a result, was hoarse.
Homonyms…p.2
17. led
The audience was led in a sing-along by the choir director on stage.
18. lead
The lead keeps falling out of my mechanical pencil.
19. naval
My family has to move because Mom has been assigned to a naval base in California.
20. navel
Navel oranges are called that because it looks like they have a belly button!
21. principal
We have one principal and one assistant principal in the middle school.
22. principle
The principle reason I want to go to Ohio State University is that my
grandparents live in Columbus and I would get to see them more often.
23. stationary
When I go to the Y to exercise, I like to spend 15 minutes on a stationary bike before
I do weight lifting.
24. stationery
We cleaned out my grandparents house and found a lot of beautiful stationery because
Gram loved to write letters.
25. straight
I am not able to draw a straight line without using a ruler, are you?
26. strait
There is a strait at the tip of So. America that is named after the explorer
Ferdinand Magellan, who was the first European explorer to sail thru it, in 1520.
27. their
We saw geese flying over the freeway this morning, making their way south for the
winter.
28. there
We went there to sell candy to raise money for our Boy Scout trip but no one was home.
29. wear
What are you going to wear to the dance tomorrow?
30. where
Where were you able to buy such huge pumpkins?
31. ware(s)
The blacksmith and broom-maker set up booths at the festival to sell their wares.
32. weather
What’s the weather predicted for this weekend –sun or rain?
33. whether
When you start 9th gr., you will need to decide whether or not you plan on
going to college so that you can take the courses colleges require of you to get in.
Homonyms… pg.3
34. advice
I have been trying hard to listen to the advice my principal gives me but sometimes I am
so upset that it is hard to do.
35. advise
The weather channel will advise listeners when the hurricane is coming ashore.
36. breath
Are you able to hold your breath long enough to swim across the pool underwater?
37. breathe
It is hard for me to breathe when I am in antique shops because of my allergy to dust,
mildew and molds.
38. breadth
The breadth of knowledge the speaker had about the Holocaust was due to the fact that
she herself had been in a concentration camp.
39. conscience
I didn’t sneak out after dark with my friends because my conscience said, No.”
40. conscious
I was so happy to see my cousin able to speak and recognize people when he was finally
conscious following the accident.
41. desert
If you desert the army, you will be given a dishonorable discharge.
42. dessert
I want to go to the restaurant with the most choices for dessert!
43. emigrate
The extensive damage done by the 2010 earthquake may cause those still living in
Haiti’s tent camps emigrate from Haiti to move to other islands in the Caribbean.
44. Immigrate
Our neighbors chose to immigrate to the U.S. because they had other relatives already
living here.
45. liable
With my luck, if I ever try snowboarding I am liable to break one or more bones!
46. libel
Some Facebook posters are being sued for libel because their reputations are being
ruined.
47. marital
Marital property is anything that is accumulated after two people marry.
48. martial
They are recruiting students to join and form a martial arts team from our school.
49. marshal
Wyatt Earp was a very famous U.S. Marshal during the “wild west” era in the late 1800’s.
Homonyms… pg.4
50. quiet
I like to do homework when it is quiet at my house, before everyone else gets home.
51. quite
He got quite strong just by lifting weights for 5 minutes, two times a day.
52. quit
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during W.W. II, constantly reminded
the British people to never quit, to “never, never, never give up” in their fight against
the German army.
53. than
Is your male cat older than your female cat, or is it the other way around?
54. then
First I must pass my driving test and then I will be allowed to drive to school one day a wk.
55. cellar
When my granddad wants me to bring something up from the basement for him, he asks
me to “fetch it from the cellar!”
56. seller
I was the second highest seller in the popcorn fundraiser for Student Council.
57. aisle(s)
When I went food shopping at Kroger’s today, I could hardly get my cart down the aisles.
because it was so crowded.
58. Isle(s)
There are numerous uninhabited islands or isles surrounding Australia.