Grade 10 English Vocabulary

Top 8 Most Confusing Homophones

Homophones are the words which have the same pronunciation but are spelled differently and have different meanings. To use a correct homophone at the right place you need to practice it.

Affect/effect:

‘Affect’ is used to indicate influence whereas ‘effect’ is a noun which means to cause or to bring about.

For example:
The herbal medicine affected her as anticipated (not effected)
The medicine has negative side effects (not affects).

Except/Accept:

‘Accept’ is used as a verb which means to receive and ‘except’ is a preposition which means to exclude.

For example:
We accept donations for orphanage. (not expect)
He was present all the days except Saturday (not accept)

Break/Brake:

‘Brake’ is a verb which means to stop and when used as a noun it refers to a device which is used for slow down or to stop a motion. ‘Break’ is used when something is shattered or smashed or when somebody takes recess.

For example:
They had healthy snacks at tea break. (not brake), Handle it with care, it is breakable (not brakeable)
The bike toppled because of the failure of brakes. (not breaks)

Compliment/Complement:

‘Complement’ is used to refer something which enhances or completes whereas ‘compliment’ is used as an expression for praising someone.

For example:
Eggs are healthy complement to the breakfast. (not compliment)
She keeps on getting compliments about her good looks. (not complement)

Lie/Lay:

‘Lie’ is used for indicating the act of reclining whereas you use lay to indicate how something is placed. ‘Lay’ is a transitive verb that needs an object. On the other hand ‘lie’ does not need an object. To lie can be changed into lie, lay, lain, lying and to lay changes into lays, laid and laying etc.

For example:
This hen lays eggs every day.
He lies down on the bed.

Capitol/capital:

‘Capital’ is referred to the city, to the upper case and also for money whereas ‘capitol’ is the rendezvous of lawmakers.

For example:
The capital of Maharashtra is Mumbai.
The capitol is undergoing extensive renovation.

Principal/principle:

‘Principle’ is a noun which denotes law or the basic truth. It should not be confused with the ‘principal’ who is the head of institutions and organizations or a particular sum of money.

For example:
The principal of this college is a renowned person.
As a principle, all the things thrown upwards come down because of gravity.

Whether/weather:

‘Weather’ is used to refer the present atmosphere whereas ‘whether’ is used as a conjunction for introducing choices.

For example:
The cold weather made me fall sick.
Whether you believe it or not, I had an encounter with death today.

Worksheet:

Fill the following blanks with a suitable word:

It was a pleasant .......................... outside.
.......................... early or delayed, justice will be done.
I met the .......................... yesterday and scheduled the meeting.
There are certain .......................... which are to be kept by everyone.
We .......................... hard cash only.
.......................... his drinking, he does not have any other vices.
The thief .......................... opens the door and entered .......................... of the bike are beyond repair now.
He was badly .......................... by the demise of his father.
Let us see if it has positive ..........................

Answers:

Weather
Whether
Principal
Principles
Accept
Except
Breaks
Brakes
Affected
Effect