3rd Grade spelling
3rd Grade Homophones
Homophone spelling list: words that sound alike but are spelled differently, like their, there, write, right and week, weak. Play hangman or print it.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: Words that sound exactly the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. Each group is matched by pronunciation.
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Their, there and they're all sound alike. So do write and right, week and weak, and meat and meet. Because the sound gives no clue about which word is meant, the only way to spell them correctly is to know the meaning and to link each spelling to it.
Our list is organized in groups of homophones, and we matched them using a pronunciation dictionary, not by spelling. Each group shows the spellings together: would and wood, here and hear, made and maid, road and rode, break and brake, whole and hole. Right, write and rite are one group of three, and site, sight and cite are another. Some pairs depend on accent: very and vary, and whether and weather, sound alike in many American accents but not in all. Teachers should treat the list as a guide and decide which pairs match their students' speech.
42 entries. Our solver needed 4.5 wrong guesses on average: 4 easy, 16 medium and 22 hard. The toughest is wood (10 misses), the quickest whether (0).
their / there
- their Medium · 2
- there Easy · 1
would / wood
- would Hard · 8
- wood Hard · 10
very / vary
- very Hard · 10
- vary Hard · 10
where / wear
- where Medium · 2
- wear Hard · 8
here / hear
- here Easy · 1
- hear Medium · 3
right / write / rite
- right Hard · 6
- write Hard · 6
- rite Medium · 2
made / maid
- made Hard · 5
- maid Hard · 7
through / threw
- through Medium · 4
- threw Medium · 3
night / knight
- night Hard · 5
- knight Hard · 6
real / reel
- real Medium · 3
- reel Hard · 6
week / weak
- week Hard · 6
- weak Hard · 9
seen / scene
- seen Medium · 2
- scene Medium · 2
whole / hole
- whole Medium · 3
- hole Hard · 5
wait / weight
- wait Hard · 6
- weight Medium · 3
whether / weather
- whether Easy · 0
- weather Medium · 2
heard / herd
- heard Medium · 2
- herd Hard · 5
meet / meat
- meet Hard · 5
- meat Hard · 5
road / rode
- road Easy · 1
- rode Medium · 4
site / sight / cite
- site Hard · 5
- sight Medium · 3
- cite Hard · 6
break / brake
- break Medium · 4
- brake Hard · 5
Words worth a closer look
- wholeThe w is silent, and the word means complete. Students often write hole, which is a different word.
- weightEigh makes the long a sound, and it sounds like wait. Weight is how heavy something is.
- threwPast tense of throw, and it sounds like through. Threw is about an action, and through is about direction.
- riteA ceremony, as in rite of passage. Less familiar than right and write, so students rarely see it.
- citeTo mention as a source. Shares its sound with site and sight, so this is the hardest of the three.
Teaching it
The best way to teach homophones is through meaning, one pair at a time. Draw the difference: a hole in the ground and a whole pizza. Give each spelling a memory hook, such as hear has an ear in it and here is a place, like there. Teaching a whole group of six at once overwhelms students.
Use hangman with a sentence clue, such as I can ____ the music, so players solve hear, not here. This forces them to think about meaning. Then have students write sentences that use both words in a pair correctly, and swap papers for checking. Keep the list to two or three pairs per week.
Print a 3rd Grade Homophones worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix UnSpelling words that start with the prefix un, meaning not, like unhappy, unfair, unsafe and unlucky. Play hangman or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix ReSpelling words that start with the prefix re, usually meaning again, like rebuild, restart, replace and remove. Play hangman or print a worksheet.
- 3rd Grade Words With the Prefix DisSpelling words starting with the prefix dis, meaning not or the opposite of, like disagree, dislike, disappear and discount. Play hangman or print a list.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in Ful and LessSpelling words ending in ful and less, like helpful, hopeful, careless and homeless. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in LySpelling words ending in ly, like quickly, slowly, finally and friendly. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.
- 3rd Grade Words Ending in NessSpelling words ending in ness, like kindness, sadness, darkness and happiness. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with an answer key.