Commonly Confused Words
July 22, 2025
Posted by STLCC in Writing Resources
Sound-Alike Homophones
Words that sound alike or look alike (moral/morale) often confuse students, especially those using spell checkers. Below are three groups of homonyms that have different meanings, despite sounding the same when spoken.
Its/It’s
- Its is the possessive form of the pronoun it. (The cat licked its fur.)
- It’s is the contraction of it is or it has. (It’s time to eat. It’s been fun.)
There/Their/They’re
- There shows direction. It means “at that place.” (He said to meet him over there.) Sometimes there will introduce a thought. In that case, there is followed by a verb and its subject. (There is not enough food.) Note: There is not the subject in such a construction. Food is the subject of the verb is.
- Their is the possessive form of the pronoun they. It means “belonging to them.” (They lost their first six softball games.)
- They’re is a contraction of the two words they are. (They’re not happy about losing the game.)
To/Two/Too
- To means “in the direction of” when it is used as a preposition. (They have gone to the store.) The word to combines with a verb to form the infinitive: to have, to see, to be. (We tried to swim toward shore).
- Two is the same as the number 2. (I have two cats, Fluffy and Muffy.
- Too has several meanings. It means “also” or “as well.” (My dog likes you, too). Too can also intensify the meaning of the word that follows, meaning “very,” “excessively,” or “overly.” (The little children were too excited to go to bed.)
Commonly Confused Words
This lengthy list of other commonly confused words with simple definitions will help you decide which spelling fits your sentence.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| accept | To receive. |
| except | With the exclusion of. |
| advice | Recommendation (n). |
| advise | To recommend (v). |
| adverse | Unfavorable. |
| averse | Opposed to. |
| affect | To influence (v); emotional response (n). |
| effect | Result (n); to cause (v). |
| aisle | Space between rows. |
| isle | Island. |
| allude | To make indirect reference to. |
| elude | To avoid. |
| allusion | Indirect reference. |
| illusion | False idea, misleading appearance. |
| already | By this time. |
| all ready | Fully prepared. |
| altar | Sacred platform or place. |
| alter | To change. |
| altogether | Thoroughly. |
| all together | Everyone/everything in one place. |
| a lot | A quantity; many of something. |
| allot | To divide or portion out. |
| angel | Supernatural being, good person. |
| angle | Shape made by joining 2 straight lines. |
| are | Plural form of “to be”. |
| our | Plural form of “my”. |
| accent | Pronunciation common to a region. |
| ascent | The act of rising or climbing. |
| assent | Consent, agreement. |
| assistance | Help. |
| assistants | Helpers. |
| bare | Nude, unadorned. |
| bear | To carry; an animal. |
| beside | Close to; next to. |
| besides | Except for; in addition. |
| boar | A wild male pig. |
| bore | To drill a hole through. |
| board | Piece of wood. |
| bored | Uninterested. |
| born | Into life. |
| borne | Past participle of “to bear” (carry). |
| brake | Device for stopping. |
| break | Destroy; make into pieces. |
| buy | To purchase. |
| by | Next to; through the agency of. |
| canvas | Heavy cloth. |
| canvass | To take a survey; a survey. |
| capital | Major city. |
| capitol | Government building. |
| choose | To pick. |
| chose | Past tense of “to choose”. |
| clothes | Garments. |
| cloths | Pieces of fabric. |
| coarse | Rough. |
| course | Path; series of lectures. |
| complement | Something that completes. |
| compliment | Praise, flattery. |
| conscience | Sense of morality. |
| conscious | Awake; aware. |
| corps | Regulated group. |
| corpse | Dead body. |
| council | Governing body. |
| counsel | Advice; to give advice. |
| dairy | Containing or made from milk. |
| diary | Personal journal. |
| descent | Downward movement. |
| dissent | Disagreement. |
| dessert | Final, sweet course in a meal. |
| desert | To abandon; dry, sandy area. |
| device | A plan; a tool or utensil. |
| devise | To create. |
| discreet | Modest, prudent behavior. |
| discrete | A separate thing, distinct. |
| do | Verb indicating performance of a task. |
| dew | Water droplets condensed from air. |
| due | As a result of. |
| dominant | Commanding (adj). |
| dominate | To control (v). |
| die | To lose life; one of a pair of dice. |
| dye | To change or add color. |
| dyeing | Changing or adding color. |
| dying | Losing life. |
| elicit | To draw out. |
| illicit | Illegal, forbidden. |
| eminent | Prominent. |
| imminent | About to happen. |
| envelop | To surround (v). |
| envelope | Container for a letter (n). |
| everyday | Routine, ordinary (adj). |
| every day | Each day, succession (adj, n). |
| fair | Light skinned; just, honest; a carnival. |
| fare | Money for transportation; food. |
| farther | Greater (measurable) distance. |
| further | Greater (non-measurable) depth. |
| formally | Conventionally, with ceremony. |
| formerly | Previously. |
| forth | Forward. |
| fourth | Number four in a list. |
| gorilla | Animal in ape family. |
| guerrilla | Soldier specializing in surprise attack. |
| hear | To sense sound by ear. |
| here | In this place. |
| heard | Past tense of “to hear”. |
| herd | Group of animals. |
| hoard | A hidden fund or supply; a cache. |
| horde | A large group or crowd, swarm. |
| hole | Opening. |
| whole | Complete; an entire thing. |
| human | Relating to people; human being. |
| humane | Compassionate. |
| knew | Past tense of “know”. |
| new | Fresh, not yet old. |
| know | To comprehend. |
| no | Negative. |
| later | After a time. |
| latter | Second one. |
| lead | Heavy metal substance; to guide. |
| led | Past tense of “to lead”. |
| lessen | To decrease. |
| lesson | Something learned and/or taught. |
| lightning | Storm-related electricity. |
| lightening | Making lighter. |
| loose | Unbound, not tightly fastened. |
| lose | To misplace. |
| maybe | Perhaps (adv). |
| may be | Might be (v). |
| meat | Animal flesh. |
| meet | To encounter. |
| mete | To measure; to distribute. |
| metal | A hard organic substance. |
| medal | A flat disked stamped with design. |
| mettle | Courage, spirit, energy. |
| miner | A worker in a mine. |
| minor | Underage person; less important (adj). |
| moral | Lesson of a fable or story. |
| morale | Attitude or outlook (of a group). |
| passed | Past tense of “to pass”. |
| past | At a previous time. |
| patience | Putting up with annoyances. |
| patients | People under medical care. |
| peace | Absence of war. |
| piece | Part of a whole; musical arrangement. |
| peak | Point, pinnacle, maximum. |
| peek | To peer through or look furtively. |
| pique | Feel irritated or resentful (v). |
| pedal | The foot lever of a bicycle or car. |
| petal | A flower segment. |
| peddle | To sell. |
| personal | Intimate; owned by a person. |
| personnel | Employees. |
| plain | Simple, unadorned. |
| plane | To shave wood; aircraft. |
| precede | To come before. |
| proceed | To continue. |
| presence | Attendance; being at hand. |
| presents | Gifts. |
| principal | Foremost, school administrator (n). |
| principle | Moral conviction, basic truth. |
| quiet | Silent, calm. |
| quite | Very. |
| rain | Water drops falling; to fall like rain. |
| reign | To rule. |
| rein | Strap to control animal. |
| raise | To lift up. |
| raze | To tear down. |
| rational | Having reason or understanding. |
| rationale | Principles of opinion, beliefs. |
| respectfully | With respect. |
| respectively | In that order. |
| reverend | Title given to clergy. |
| reverent | Worshipful. |
| right | Correct; opposite of left. |
| rite | Ritual or ceremony. |
| write | To put words on paper. |
| road | Path. |
| rode | Past tense of “to ride”. |
| scene | Place of an action; segment of a play. |
| seen | Viewed; past participle of “to see”. |
| sense | Perception, understanding. |
| since | Measurement of past time; because. |
| sight | Scene, view, picture. |
| site | Place, location. |
| cite | To document or quote (v). |
| stationary | Standing still. |
| stationery | Writing paper. |
| straight | Unbending. |
| strait | Narrow or confining; a waterway. |
| taught | Past tense of “to teach”. |
| taut | Tight. |
| than | Introduces second element. |
| then | At that time; next. |
| through | Finished; into and out of. |
| threw | Past tense of “to throw”. |
| thorough | Complete. |
| track | Course; road. |
| tract | Pamphlet; plot of ground. |
| waist | Midsection of the body. |
| waste | Discarded material; to squander. |
| waive | Forgo, renounce. |
| wave | Flutter, move back and forth. |
| weak | Not strong. |
| week | Seven days. |
| weather | Climatic condition. |
| whether | If. |
| where | In which place. |
| were | Past tense of “to be”. |
| which | One of a group. |
| witch | Female sorcerer. |
| whose | Possessive for “of who”. |
| who’s | Contraction for “who is”. |
| your | Possessive for “of who”. |
| you’re | Contraction for “you are”. |
| yore | Time long past. |
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