ADVANCED ENGLISH HOMONYMS EXERCISE 1

C1–C2 · Advanced

Useful for:✓ TOEFL✓ Cambridge B2/C1

Practice choosing the correct word from easily confused pairs such as straight/strait, peace/piece, and board/bored. Use the sentence meaning to identify the correct spelling.

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Choose the correct homonym to complete each sentence.
Example: He lives by (by/buy) the river.

1. Keep walking (strait/straight) until you reach Lincoln Blvd.✓

2. All the leaders claimed that they wanted (peace/piece).✓

3. Don't iron your clothes on the table; use an ironing (board/bored)!✓

4. Lord Williams hardly ever left his (manor/manner).✓

5. That lion has a beautiful (main/mane).✓

6. You're not allowed to (alter/altar) anything on the worksheet.✓

7. That is the (main/mane) reason that I can't go tonight.✓

8. Most of the audience members were (board/bored) with the performance.✓

9. By hiring two new employees, Jim hoped to (lesson/lessen) our workload.✓

10. I love this (summary/summery) weather.✓

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Did you know? Some easily confused words sound alike but mean very different things.

Think of peace/piece or straight/strait. You can't choose by sound alone; you need the meaning of the sentence. Other pairs, such as affect/effect, have similar spellings but different grammatical roles. Read the whole sentence before deciding which word belongs there.

Next exercise: Homonyms and Homophones – Exercise 2 →

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