Homonyms from Ail to Ant

by Lisa Binion

Homonyms are words that are frequently confused by people. They sound exactly alike but are spelled differently. One has to learn what each spelling means. When confronted with a word that has more than one spelling, confusion can set in. If you aren’t sure of the meaning, grab a dictionary before deciding which one to use. As you can see from the following homonyms, using the wrong one can change the entire meaning of a sentence, perhaps even your story.

Ail and ale
To ail is to feel poorly or cause someone uneasiness.
Jessica tried not to ail over the dire situation.
Ale is a malt beverage that is darker, heavier, and bitterer than beer.
Joe ordered an ale from the bartender.

Air, are, e’er, ere, err, heir
Air is what we breathe.
The air smells wonderfully fresh after a rain storm.
Are, pronounced just like the air we breathe, is a surface measure equal to 100 square meters. That one surprised me; I thought sure the pronunciation was a mistake, but I discovered differently.
An are is equal to 119.6 square yards.
E’er is the contraction for ever and is usually used in poetry.
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave
Ere means before.
Ere you left the room, the computer crashed.
Err means to make a mistake.
Marilyn's belief that to err is human was tested when she battled her wits against a human who seemingly never made a mistake.
An heir is someone who inherits property after a person’s death.
Mr. Simpson named Barbara as his heir.

Aisle, I’ll, and isle
An aisle is a long walkway, such as a bride would walk down. It is also a walkway between or along sections of seats in a theater or church.
The veil of Mitzi’s bridal gown was surrounded by rose petals as she walked down the aisle.
I’ll is the contraction for I will.
I’ll see you in the morning.
An isle is an island.
As the sun set, the sailors saw an isle in the distance.

All and awl
All means everything, nothing is left out.
All of the furniture in the room is to be moved into the hallway.
An awl is a sharp, pointed instrument used for poking holes in items such as leather and wood.
Michael, who loved to make belts, received a new awl for his birthday.

Allowed and aloud
Allowed is when one has been given permission to do something.
Megan was allowed to go to the party.
Aloud is to speak with a voice that can be heard or to speak loudly.
Emily was 5-years-old before she spoke aloud.

Altar and alter
An altar is a place of worship.
Lucinda approached the altar to pray.
When you alter something, you change it in some way.
The dress was perfect, but it needed to be altered.

An and Ann
An is the Sumerian god of heaven. It is also an indefinite article which appears before used before words with an initial vowel sound.
She has an apple in her lunch box.
Ann is a woman’s name.
Ann is the name of one of my closest friends.

Ant and aunt
An ant is an insect.
Ants were crawling all over the food that had been left on the counter overnight.
An aunt is a relative, the sister of your mother or father.
My Aunt Sissy is a lot of fun to be around.

For those of you who enjoy word games, below is a link to Good Knight, Suite Prints, a story written by Mary Ellen Slate that contains 140 pairs of homonyms. Games Magazine, who put the article on the internet for me, said that you are free to print out your own copy of the story. That way you can work on it away from your computer.

Good Knight, Suite Prints can be found at http://www.gamesmagazine-online.com/gameslinks/GoodKnight.html.