Homophones (Sound-Alikes)
What homophones are
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. They're a favourite in 11+ tests because it's easy to pick the wrong one. The trick is to know the meaning of each.
The most common homophones
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| there | a place | their | belonging to them |
| they're | they are | ||
| your | belonging to you | you're | you are |
| to | towards | too | also / very |
| two | the number 2 | ||
| hear | listen with ears | here | this place |
| its | belonging to it | it's | it is |
| where | which place | wear | put on clothes |
| know | to understand | no | the opposite of yes |
| write | to put words down | right | correct / direction |
Tricks to remember them
- hear has "ear" in it — you hear with your ear.
- their has "heir" — an heir owns something (belonging).
- you're = you + are; if you can say "you are", use you're.
- it's = it + is; if "it is" doesn't fit, use its.
Other tricky pairs
- piece (a bit) / peace (calm) — a "piece of pie".
- weather (sun/rain) / whether (if).
- practice (noun) / practise (verb) — "I practise at football practice".
Worked example
Choose the right word: "___ going to leave ___ coats over ___."
- They're (they are) going to leave their (belonging) coats over there (place). ✓
Common mistakes
- Writing your when you mean you're (you are).
- Using there/their/they're interchangeably.
- Confusing its and it's.
Top tips
- Test the long form: can you say "they are", "you are", "it is"? If yes, use the apostrophe version.
- Learn a little memory clue for each pair (like "hear = ear").
- Read the whole sentence to check the meaning fits.
Quick recap
- Homophones sound alike but mean different things — choose by meaning.
- Key pairs: there/their/they're, your/you're, to/too/two, its/it's, hear/here.
- Test with the long form (they are, you are, it is) to pick the apostrophe version.