Spell Common Homophones

In this activity, we're going to to be looking at common homophones and how to spell them.

 

Homophones are words that sound the same but mean different things and are spelt differently.

 

For example: bear and bare.  

 

Read those two words out loud - did you notice that they sound exactly the same?  

They have completely different meanings though - let's look at each of them in a sentence:

 

The bear was prowling through the forest.

 

 

On hot days I like to take off my socks and have bare feet.

 

 

In this activity, we are going to practise spelling two pairs of homophones:

 

herd and heard

past and passed

 

Let's look at these in a sentence so we can understand their different meanings:

 

I saw a herd of elephants.

 

 

A herd is a large group of (usually hoofed) animals who live or are kept together.

 

He heard the bell ringing.

 

 

Heard is a verb in the past tense, meaning sense with an ear.

 

The Pyramids were built in the distant past.

 

 

The past is a time that has now gone by.

 

We can also use past to describe something moving from one side to another (an icy wind swept past).

 

The plane passed overhead.

 

 

Passed is a verb in the past tense meaning moved through, across or over.

 

Are you ready to practise spelling these words?  Let's go!