Homophones are two or more words with the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings. English has many homophones. This can sometimes be confusing to people learning English. It can also be confusing for native speakers of English as well! In this posting I include a list of 48 common English homophones. I then tell each word’s part of speech and include an example sentence. The download at the end will give you additional practice using homophones correctly.
Below is a list of common English homophones.
A through B
1. ad (noun)–an advertisement or commercial. That new ad for Burger King is very funny because it’s in cartoon form. 
add (verb)– to sum up numbers. Are you able to add this, or do you need a calculator?
2. air (noun)–what we breathe. The air is polluted today.
heir (noun)–the person who will get your money after you have died. My son is my only heir.
3. aisle (noun)–a passage way in a store. You can find Coke in the soft drink aisle in the supermarket.
isle (noun)–an island. I would love to have a vacation on a tropical isle.
4. ate (verb)–past tense of eat. We ate hamburgers at the barbecue.
eight (adjective)–a number (8). They have eight children.
5. beat (verb)–to hit something. The drummer beat his drum.
beet (noun)–a root vegetable. Beets come in two colors, red or gold.
6. bare (adjective)–uncovered. He didn’t wear a hat. His head was bare.
bear (noun)–an animal. A bear broke into my car when I was camping.
7. be–to exist. He only wants to be happy.
bee–an insect. Bees give us honey.
8. brake (noun)–the part of a car that makes it stop. I need to get my front brake repaired.
break (verb)–to cause something to be broken. Don’t break my new dishes.
9. by (preposition)–near or toward. Please stand by the windows.
buy–to purchase. I need to buy a new winter coat.
C Through D
10. cent (noun)–a penny. I don’t have a cent. Can I borrow some money from you?
scent (noun)–a smell. Her perfume had a beautiful scent.
11. chili ( noun)–a food or pepper. It’s always nice to have chili on a cold day.
chilly (adjective)–cool or cold. Wear your coat. It’s chilly outside.
12. dear (adjective)–highly valued or loved. You’re a dear friend to me.
deer (noun)–an animal in a forest. We went hunting for deer.
13. die (verb)–to stop living. We will all die one day.
dye (verb)–to change the color of something. I would like to dye my hair red.
E through H
14. eye (noun)–what we see with. I got my eyes examined yesterday.