A homophone is a word that sounds identical to another word but has a different spelling and a different meaning. From Greek: homo (same) + phone (sound). Examples: there / their / they're; to / too / two; your / you're.
What Is a Homophone?
English spelling does not always match pronunciation — a legacy of the language's complex history, borrowed words from French, Latin, Norse, and Old English, and the fact that spelling was largely standardised in the 15th century while pronunciation kept changing. Homophones are one result: different words that have merged to the same sound over time but kept their separate spellings and meanings.
Homophones present a unique challenge because they are invisible errors in speech but very visible in writing. When you speak, no one can tell the difference between "there", "their", and "they're" — all three sound the same. But in writing, choosing the wrong one immediately signals a spelling mistake that spell-checkers usually cannot catch, because all three are valid words.
The most important homophones to master are the grammatical ones: the pairs involving possessive pronouns and contractions (your/you're, its/it's, their/they're, whose/who's). A simple rule applies to all of these: if you can expand the word to two separate words (they are → they're, it is → it's), use the apostrophe form. If you cannot expand it, use the possessive form without an apostrophe.
12 Common Homophone Pairs (and Triplets)
| Homophones | Meanings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| there / their / they're | place; possessive; contraction of "they are" | "Put it over there." / "Their car is red." / "They're here!" |
| to / too / two | preposition/infinitive; also/excessively; number | "I went to school." / "Me too." / "I have two cats." |
| your / you're | possessive; contraction of "you are" | "Is this your bag?" / "You're very kind." |
| its / it's | possessive; contraction of "it is/has" | "The cat licked its paw." / "It's raining." |
| hear / here | to perceive sound; in this place | "I can hear music." / "Come here." |
| by / buy / bye | preposition; to purchase; farewell | "Written by Dickens." / "I'll buy it." / "Bye!" |
| know / no | to have knowledge of; negative/determiner | "I know the answer." / "No, I don't." |
| write / right | to put words on paper; correct / direction | "Write your name." / "That's right." |
| week / weak | 7 days; lacking strength | "See you next week." / "She felt weak." |
| flour / flower | baking powder; plant blossom | "Add flour to the mix." / "She loves flowers." |
| would / wood | modal verb; tree material | "I would love to come." / "The table is made of wood." |
| whose / who's | possessive of who; contraction of "who is/has" | "Whose bag is this?" / "Who's coming tonight?" |
The Apostrophe Test
For the grammatical homophone pairs (possessive vs contraction), use this quick test: try replacing the word with the expanded two-word form. If the sentence still makes sense, use the apostrophe version. If not, use the possessive (no apostrophe).
| Sentence | Expand test | Correct form |
|---|---|---|
| "___ very helpful." | "You are very helpful." ✓ | You're very helpful. |
| "Is this ___ pen?" | "Is this you are pen?" ✗ | Is this your pen? |
| "___ been a long day." | "It has been a long day." ✓ | It's been a long day. |
| "The dog wagged ___ tail." | "The dog wagged it is tail." ✗ | The dog wagged its tail. |
Common Mistakes
Mistakes to Avoid
Their going to be late.
They're going to be late. (contraction of "they are" — use apostrophe)
The company lost it's best employee.
The company lost its best employee. (possessive "its" has no apostrophe)
Your going to love this film.
You're going to love this film. (contraction of "you are")
I know to many people here.
I know too many people here. ("too" = excessively/also; "to" = preposition/infinitive)