Homophones Teaching Resources
Teach students to identify homophones and tell these similar-sounding words apart this year with printable worksheets, digital reading center activities, games and more teaching resources designed for teaching second- or third-grade ELA!
This curriculum-aligned resource collection was created by teachers for teachers like you to save time on your lesson plans with editable options to help differentiate instruction for your learners. Explore Common Core curriculum-aligned activities, worksheets and more!
New to teaching this part of the ELA curriculum or just looking for fresh ideas to engage your learners? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is a Homophone? A Kid-Friendly Definition
First things first! How do you explain these tricky words to your students? Here's a simple and kid-friendly homophone definition to help:
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. These words can be tricky, so we need to learn strategies such as using context clues to tell them apart.
Homophone Examples
OK, that sounds simple enough, but what exactly are we talking about? Let's explore some homophone examples that tend to trip up students who are still building their skills!
Here are some of the most common homophones in the English language:
- their/there/they're
- to/too/two
- your/you're
- here/hear
- where/wear
- bear/bare
- eight/ate
- meet/meat
- heel/heal
- ant/aunt
- hair/hare
Homophones vs. Homonyms vs. Homographs
As if homophones themselves weren't tricky enough, it can be hard for kids (and adults!) to tell the difference between homophones, homonyms and homographs. So let's break them down!
- Homophones — These are words that sound the same but have different meanings and may also have different spellings.
- Homonyms — These are words that are spelled the same and may or may not sound the same, but they have different meanings.
- Homographs — These are words that are spelled the same but may have different pronunciations and meanings.
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Which Homophone? Worksheets
Download this differentiated homophones worksheet to help your students become more familiar with this tricky vocabulary!
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Homophones in Context – Interactive Activity
Review the meanings and spellings of some common homophones with this digital drag-and-drop activity for your vocabulary lessons.
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Name That Homophone! Interactive Activity
Get students to recognize the correct spelling of common homophones with this engaging digital resource perfect for vocabulary lessons.
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Homophones Worksheet - Cloze Passage
Help your students select the correct homophone to use in context with this one-page cloze passage worksheet.
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Homophones Crossword Puzzle
Challenge your students to complete this vocabulary crossword puzzle by completing the sentences with the correct homophone.
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Introduction to Homophones Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to use homophones correctly in their writing with this comprehensive set of teaching slides.
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Spot the Homophones Worksheets
Transform students into vocab detectives with this set of reading passages containing misspelled homophones.
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Homophones Word Searches
Immerse your students in common homophones with this differentiated set of homophones word searches for your vocabulary lessons.
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Spell the Homophone Worksheets
Get your students spelling homophones correctly with this set of differentiated worksheets for your vocabulary lessons.
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Hunting for Homophones – SCOOT! Task Cards
Get your students to identify the correct homophones in sentences with this set of 36 task cards for your vocabulary lessons.
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Homophones Clip Cards
Get your students to identify the correct homophones in sentences with this set of 24 clip cards for your vocabulary lessons.
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Homophone Mandala Flower Worksheets
Have your students create a colorful mandala flower while simultaneously demonstrating their understanding of common homophones.
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Word Study Lists – Homophones
Introduce your students to the most common homophones with these two sets of comprehensive word lists.
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Homophones Tarsia Puzzle
Challenge your students to identify and match pairs of homophones with this differentiated Tarsia puzzle, perfect for your primary school vocabulary lessons.
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Homophones in the Dictionary Worksheets
Help your students become familiar with the meanings and spellings of common homophones with this differentiated dictionary skills worksheet.
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Defining Homophones Matching Game
Help your students become familiar with the meanings and spellings of common homophones with this set of 36 differentiated matching cards.
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Defining Homophones Task Cards
Print this set of 24 homophones task cards for your class reading centers.
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Which Homophone? Interactive Game
Add some excitement to your vocabulary lessons with an interactive game exploring homophones and their definitions.
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Homophones Anchor Charts
Surround your students with examples of homophones with this set of 19 classroom posters.
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Valentine's Day Homophones Task Cards
Practice identifying and using different homophones with Valentine’s Day task cards!
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Homophones Practice Workbook 2
Strengthen your students’ ability to recognize homophones in context with this set of 9 worksheets with answers.
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I Have, Who Has? Homophones Game
Play a whole-class game to review common homophones and their meanings.
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Homophones Bingo
Make learning about homophones and their definitions an engaging whole-class activity with this homophones bingo game.
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Homophone Match-Up Cards
Teach your students the meanings and spellings of some common homophones with this set of 32 match-up cards.
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Stand Up For Homophones - Whole-Class Activity
Help your students learn the different homophones and their meanings with an interactive, whole-class game.
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Using Homophones Unit Plan
This English unit addresses the concept of homophones.
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Defining Homophones
A 60 minute lesson in which students will connect a homophone with its correct definition based on its spelling.
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Common Homophones
A 60 minute lesson in which students will choose the correct homophone to use in the context of a sentence.
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Introduction to Homophones
A 60 minute lesson in which students will identify basic homophones in the English language.