Homophones: Sound the Same, Spelled Different

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. 'To', 'two', and 'too' all sound alike. 'To' shows direction, 'two' is the number 2, and 'too' means also or very.

'Sea' is the ocean and 'see' is what you do with your eyes. 'Ate' is past eating and 'eight' is the number. Read: 'I ate eight grapes. ' Because they sound the same, you can only tell them apart by the spelling and the meaning.

When you write, ask which meaning you need.

• 1Homophones sound alike.
• 2They are spelled differently and mean different things.
• 3Pick the spelling that matches the meaning.