Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings, like see and sea, or there, their and they’re. The sentence tells you which one you need.
What your child will learn
- Recognise that homophones sound the same but mean different things
- Choose the correct homophone for a sentence
- Use there, their and they’re correctly
- Use to, too and two correctly
Tricks for the tricky ones
“Their” has “heir” in it — it’s about who owns something. “There” has “here” in it — it’s about a place. “They’re” has an apostrophe because it’s short for “they are”. For to, too and two: “two” is the number, and “too” has an extra o because it means “as well” or “more than enough”.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Choose the right word: I have ___ cats.
- to
- two
- too
Show answer
Answer: two. “Two” is the number 2.
2. Choose the right word: Please ___ your name.
- write
- right
Show answer
Answer: write. “Write” is what you do with a pencil. “Right” is a direction, or correct.
3. Choose the right word: I can ___ the sea.
- see
- sea
Show answer
Answer: see. “See” is what you do with your eyes. “Sea” is the ocean.
Tips for grown-ups
- Make homophone pairs into picture cards: a pear and a pair of socks.
- When writing “their/there/they’re”, try replacing it with “they are” to check.