A Card Game for Teaching Homophones

Homophones would have to be some of the most troublesome words in the English language! These tricky little words sound the same when spoken but have different meanings and spellings. No wonder they are commonly misspelled or misused in our students’ writing!

Enter Teach Starter’s matching game for homophones! This hands-on matching game has been created by our expert teachers to support the teaching of homophones in Year 3 and 4 classrooms. Students must match the word with its pictorial representation in order to keep a pair. There are 16 matching pairs in total.

The homophones included in this resource are: male/mail, pear/pair, toe/tow, flower/flour, won/one, right/write, hair/hare, eight/ate, blue/blew, night/knight, rode/road, sun/son. 

This homophones card game downloads as an easy-print, full-colour PDF or an editable Google Slides file. 

Multiple Learning Options for This Homophones Game

Students love interacting with their peers while they learn, which makes these homophones matching cards a great choice when it comes to fostering student collaboration (with a healthy dose of friendly competition added into the mix!) This versatile resource can be used for a variety of well-known card games. Check out the suggestions below.

1. Memory – This is a great game to be played in small groups. Students place all the cards face-down on the floor in front of them. The first player turns two cards over. If the student has selected a matching homophone word and picture, the student keeps the match. Otherwise, they turn the cards over and allow the next player to take their turn. The student with the most matches at the end of the game is the winner.
2. Snap – This is a great game for students to play in pairs. Students divide the deck of cards between themselves. Then, they flip over their deck of cards in turn, keeping an eye out for matches. Once they see a match, they must swat their hand down on the pile of cards and say, ‘Snap!’ The winner is the student who ends up with all the cards!
3. Spell It! – This is a great game to play as a whole class. Divide the class into two teams. Show the first pair of students one of the picture cards and say the word aloud. The two students must then run to the board and write the word. The first person to do so correctly wins a point for their team. 

How to Access These Homophones Cards

Use the Download button above to access either the printable PDF or the editable Google Slides version of this resource. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template before accessing it).

Print the resource on cardboard for added durability. Keep all the cards together in a large envelope or ziplock bag for safekeeping.

More Activities for Teaching Homophones 

Looking for more activities to enhance your vocabulary lessons on homophones? Explore this great selection of teacher-created resources!

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