The English language has many homophones – words that have the same pronunciation, but different spellings and meanings.
A lot of English learners confuse these, but today you’ll learn how to use 10 English homophones correctly!
These 10 words are pronounced the same way... however, English also has many words that have very small pronunciation differences - like bit and beat, share and chair, and many more.
When you master these small differences, you'll sound more like a native English speaker - and my American English Pronunciation Course can help you do that!
It has a lot of "listen and repeat" exercises as well as a pronunciation evaluation at the end.
Don't mix up these ten English homophones
from EspressoEnglish.net.
The English language has many homophones,
words that have the same pronunciation
but different spellings and meanings.
A lot of English learners confuse these,
but in today's lesson,
you'll learn how to use ten English homophones correctly.
The verb STARE means to look directly at something for a long time.
We often stare at things we are interested in
or surprised or shocked by.
A STARE is another word for a step.
A series of stares can be called a flight of stares.
The verb ROLE refers to the action of a ball
when it is moving along a surface.
The noun ROLE refers to someone's position,
responsibility, or area of effectiveness,
such as your role in your company.
A flower is a beautiful, colorful plant.
Flour is a white powder made from grains,
which is used in baking.
The noun IDLE refers to someone or something
who is greatly praised, admired, and worshipped.
The adjective IDLE describes someone who is not productive,
not doing anything.
The word DEAR is used to begin letters.
It also means something is special or precious to you,
for example, a dear friend.
A DEAR is a type of animal that lives in the forest.
DEAR is irregular, and the plural is also DEAR.
A COUNCIL refers to a group of people
who discuss and or make decisions,
for example, a city council.
COUNCIL refers to advice.
It is uncountable, so you can't say a council,
but you can say he gave me some counsel.
It can also be a verb.
He counseled me about my academic plans.
The verb WASTE means to make bad use of something
in a way that's not useful.
For example, throwing away food that is still good
is wasting it.
ASSENT refers to agreement or approval
or expressing that agreement or approval.
It can be a noun or a verb.
For example, the manager gave her assent
or assented to the project.
ASSENT refers to going up,
either physically, like up a mountain,
or in status or hierarchy.
It is only a noun.
The verb form is ASCEND.
For example, I was hiking up a mountain
and broke my leg during the ascent.
The word WHOLE is another way to say entire
or 100% of something.
For example, he ate the whole cake
means he ate all of the cake.
A HOLE is an opening in a surface or in the ground.
When these are in the road,
we often call them potholes.
ELICIT is a verb meaning to cause or bring out.
For example, the teacher tried to elicit
answers from the class.
ELICIT is an adjective describing something
that is against the law.
For example, he spent 10 years in jail
due to his participation in illicit activities.
These 10 words are pronounced the same way.
However, English also has many words
that have very small pronunciation differences,
like BIT and BEAT, SHARE and CHAIR,
and many more.
When you master these small differences,
you'll sound more like a native English speaker,
and my American English pronunciation course
can help you do that.
Click on the link in the video
or in the description for more information
and to sign up.
This course has a lot of listen and repeat exercises,
as well as a pronunciation evaluation at the end.
You can also get my Shadowing with Shaina course
for additional practice and training.
