What is a homophone?

A homophone is one of two or more words that sound the same when spoken but mean different things and are often spelt differently. 'Their', 'there' and 'they're' are homophones, as are 'to', 'too' and 'two'. They are a common cause of spelling mistakes.

Examples

• to, too and two.
• there, their and they're.
• hear and here.

Quick facts

• Homophones sound alike but are not spelt or used the same way.
• Reading the whole sentence helps you choose the right homophone.