What are homophones?Many people wonder, "What are homophones?" They do not necessarily understand exactly what homophone words are, what their purposes are, and how they can be used effectively in writing. Click for Free Writer's Block Help E-Zine and Free E-Book So, what is a homophone? By definition, a homophone can have the same pronunciation as another word, but the two (or sometimes more) words will differ in their meanings. They also may differ in spelling. One example is the words "bear" and "bare." They are spelled differently, but are pronounced the same way. Yet, they have different meanings. "Bear" can actually have two meanings in itself. It can be a type of animal, or it can be used when saying something to the effect of, "a heavy load to bear," meaning that something is taking up either way too much energy or time. The word "bare," however, can be used as an adjective or a verb, but its meanings are similar. As an adjective, you could say "The baby's bottom was bare," and as a verb you could say, "The model was asked to bare all in her photo shoot." It is quite intriguing how even though those two words, and many others, are homophones, they also have the potential to contain dissimilar meanings within themselves. When you take the time to ponder and peruse through the following list of homophones or others that you come up with on your own, you will find that these different meanings can come in handy when trying to write for different genres, audiences, etc. What are homophones and how do you notice them? Listen to conversations around you. Read newspapers, books, or magazines. Make lists of your own. Think of all the words you use on a daily basis, or words that you hear other people use, and consider the different meanings that those words can convey. Oftentimes, TV shows use a technique that can be considered analogous to using homophone words in writing. This may have happened to you in reality, as well, so see if you can remember a situation like the one I am about to describe. There are usually two people, sometimes more, in a situation where they are talking about two completely different ideas. However, they think they are talking about the same thing, so they tend to be utterly confused as to why the other person (or people) in the conversation are being so inefficient in taking the time to understand what exactly they are trying to explain. It usually tends to be cleared up by the end, but hilarity often ensues (at least on TV shows) because it is common that the conversation is utterly ridiculous, and no one can imagine that two people would really ever have such a misunderstanding. Homophone words are analogous to this type of situation because they can create misunderstandings between people. Someone might here the word "sail" and think that there is a "sale" at the mall that they have to get to immediately when the other person meant that they should take a boat ride. Obviously, intent listening comes in handy in a situation such as this that may arise, but it is important to be aware of homophone words, nonetheless. Take a look at the following brief list of homophones. What are homophones that you use or hear most often? Do you find that they can be confusing? How can you clear up this confusion and make your writing stronger and more adept at analyzing meaning and creating superior writing all your own? Bear/Bare Become in tune with all the different meanings for these homophone words and any more you can think of for your writing. You will find that by analyzing the different meanings and making sure you are using them correctly and appropriately, your writing will take shape and adapt to your own expressive style.
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