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Homophones #4

For each word, guess (and correctly spell) its homophone.
A homophone is a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 7, 2018
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First submittedMarch 18, 2018
Times taken56,237
Average score75.0%
Rating4.30
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Word
Homophone
Base
Bass
Seed
Cede
Wet
Whet
Click
Clique
Aisle
Isle
Aloud
Allowed
Bread
Bred
Cash
Cache
Word
Homophone
Shoot
Chute
Flower
Flour
Herd
Heard
Jam
Jamb
Nose
Knows
Lean
Lien
Links
Lynx
Morning
Mourning
Word
Homophone
Taut
Taught
Throne
Thrown
Tide
Tied
Whale
Wail
Course
Coarse
Sensor
Censor
Chased
Chaste
Claws
Clause
101 Recent Comments
+7
Level 73
May 23, 2018
Some of these were hard because I don't pronounce the two words the same.

E.g. chased and chaste, I have just a bit more of a "t" sound in chaste.

I did eventually get them all. I always hated the word "jamb" for some reason. Then again, I guess silent B's are pretty unique, eh?

+2
Level 74
Dec 31, 2020
debt, comb, womb, bomb, lamb, subtle, tomb, dumb, thumb, numb, limb, climb, crumb, plumber...
+1
Level 67
Aug 7, 2024
Yeah the "chaste" one was the big one for me. I know the USA pronounces Ts and Ds the same in some contexts but it's harsh for this quiz to ignore the T sound here.
+1
Level 61
Nov 5, 2024
it’s rather the opposite, Americans pronounce Chased with a “t” sound at the end
+7
Level 87
Jun 17, 2018
Wale rhymes with wail. Neither is an exact homophone for whale. But a very enjoyable quiz!
+1
Level ∞
Jun 17, 2018
Correct "wh" pronunciation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmqJQ-nc_s

+13
Level 72
Sep 17, 2018
Correct is insulting. Saying the common pronunciation is better. There are dialects and accents that traditionally use the aspirated "H" in /wh/ pronunciations still.

And since you like websites...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8wh%E2%9F%A9

+5
Level 75
Sep 17, 2018
I agree with gatorsong, and I looked at the website. Their map of the southern US is missing a lot of territory in the upper south where we still use the "hw". I've never heard anyone say "wale" for whale. Apparently the whine-wine merger completely passed us by.
+1
Level 78
Nov 6, 2024
"Correct".
+7
Level 69
Sep 17, 2018
Surely ‘torte’ should be accepted?
+6
Level 77
Sep 17, 2018
Agreed - and 'tort'.
+6
Level 69
Sep 17, 2018
Yup, taught, tort, taut, torte - all homophones. The dessert (preferably chocolate or lemon) is what sprang to mind first :)
+2
Level 36
Aug 25, 2019
I can understand Taut for Taught. But while "tort" and "torte" may be homonyms of each other, how can they be homonyms for "taught" when "taught" doesn't have an "r"?
+5
Level 75
Dec 15, 2020
That is the wonder of English, and particularly for the “gh” combo - many spellings can be pronounced the same way. Taught and torte are pronounced the same (at least in the generic Southern English accent that I have).

How anyone learns English fluently is beyond me, as it is complicated enough even for those whose first language it is. I guess it comes down to the quality of education, which makes me think of a quote from a German character in a play I once saw: “I like the English. They almost speak as good English as the Dutch”.

+1
Level 80
Jan 26, 2022
Torte and taught are only pronounced the same in some accents. The majority of English speakers would not think that torte and taught are homophones.
+2
Level 67
Aug 7, 2024
Source? LMAO. England pronounces them the same, which means that Europe, Asia, Africa, ANZ pronounce it like this, as they speak English. So just the four continents disagree with you.
+1
Level 80
Nov 5, 2024
My source is Wikipedia. Australia, parts of England, Wales, most African English dialects, and New Zealand drop their Rs (non-rhotic). Ireland, Scotland, USA, Asian English dialects, southwestern England (not even all of England is non-rhotic!!), and Canada are all generally rhotic. Places like India, Pakistan, and the Caribbean all are to some degree rhotic.
+3
Level 48
Sep 17, 2018
17/24... Below average, but I guess it's decent for a non-native speaker.
+2
Level 74
Dec 31, 2020
Excellent for a non-native speaker.
+1
Level 60
Sep 17, 2018
Can't "vet" be accepted for "wet", or short-forms aren't included? Please clarify. Thanks, and nice quiz.
+3
Level 67
Sep 17, 2018
They start with two different sounds.
+2
Level 72
Sep 17, 2018
"V" and "W" so not sound the same in any native English accent I have heard. However, I suspect short forms are not included as in another quiz in the same series "bi" was not a correct answer for "buy".
+7
Level 80
Sep 17, 2018
In Wyoming, tot would be correct for taut.
+3
Level 59
Sep 17, 2018
Good one. Canada here, and I agree. (So does Merriam-Webster http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/pronunciation-symbols-and-variants-for-the-vowel-sounds-in-tot-and-taught)
+1
Level 60
Sep 17, 2018
Agreed.
+2
Level 47
Apr 5, 2019
Pretty much anywhere in America they are homophones.
+1
Level 58
Sep 29, 2021
That was mine as well.
+4
Level 67
Sep 17, 2018
Damn jamb! >:-(
+1
Level 69
Sep 17, 2018
Always surprisingly difficult since they give you the answers already.
+5
Level 88
Sep 17, 2018
whale|wail and wet|whet are not homonyms. the pairs rhyme, but if you lookup the phonetics for whale and whet they start with a slight h /(h)/ sound that wail and wet do not have.
+2
Level 55
Sep 19, 2018
Yeah, I was like, what/wat?
+2
Level 56
Jun 10, 2022
Regional variation.
+2
Level 70
Mar 2, 2025
whale|wail as an example:

it's subject to both the whine-wine merger and the pane-pain merger - the latter is found in almost all dialects save for some welsh and east anglian accents. the former - also widespread, scotland and ireland (and some new england accents) lack this one ...

generally, the [xʷ] / [ʍ] phoneme has been merged into [w] so it's safe to say that this is an acceptable pair

+3
Level 70
Sep 19, 2018
How about aisle and I'll?
+5
Level 69
Oct 11, 2018
I've only ever pronounced lien as lee-en (it's alternative phonetic pronunciation) so couldn't get that one.
+3
Level 65
Dec 8, 2019
I'm sorry, but a jamb and lien actually words? Never seen them in my life!
+4
Level 84
Jul 13, 2020
Read more.
+7
Level 49
Jan 26, 2022
Rude
+2
Level 74
Jan 14, 2020
How about bays (for base/bass) and also thought gem for jam
+1
Level 60
Jan 26, 2022
Same, I was gonna ask why gem didn't work for jam. I still don't know though, so if anyone has an answer to that, I'm interested.
+4
Level 67
Jan 26, 2022
Gem rhymes with hem. Jam rhymes with ham. E and a vowels make two different sounds.
+4
Level 56
Jun 10, 2022
Bays has a z sound ending in most areas.
+1
Level 52
Jun 2, 2020
I put tot for taut, like tater tots. Big dumb.
+1
Level 43
Jun 27, 2020
I kept trying "klick" without even thinking of "clique"!
+9
Level 84
Jul 13, 2020
Things I have learned from doing all of these homophone quizzes:

1. There will always be a complaint from a British English speaker that a word containing a letter 'R' is or should be pronounced the same as a similar word nor containing the letter 'R'. Example above is 'tort' and 'torte' for 'taut' and 'taught'. Another example is 'manna' for 'manner' and 'manor'.

2. There will be a refutal of the above by a US English speaker. US English is rhotic and British English (RP) is non-rhotic. Get over it.

3. Quizmaster puts these examples in purposefully, then retires, popcorn in hand, to observe the subsequent linguistic fisticuffs.

+2
Level 49
Jan 26, 2022
Number 3 made me laugh.
+3
Level 67
Aug 7, 2024
You make the mistake of dividing it into British and USA English, which I see people do to diminish the population that speak English differently to the Americans.

Lots of countries speak English: India, Nigeria, Singapore, Australia, etc. plus all the European countries that learn English at school. They all speak what you call the "British" way.

+2
Level 80
Nov 6, 2024
This is not really true. There are a lot of rhotic countries and dialects. Irish and Scottish speakers are generally rhotic, and so is most of southwest England. Honestly, I’d venture that there are a lot more speakers of rhotic English than non-rhotic, especially considering the large population of the USA. Oh, and Indian English and Pakistani English generally range from semi-rhotic to rhotic. The assertion that most English around the world is non-rhotic is just generally wrong.
+1
Level 82
Nov 11, 2024
To add to what Dimby said, I think it's hugely reductive to say that all of those countries speak the same English. Maybe you are just talking about rhoticity, but even then I'm sure there are at least some differences between them all
+1
Level 65
Apr 1, 2025
The European countries part of your comment is not as true as it used to be some decades ago. Sure we are still taught British English at school, but the impact of US pop culture via music, Netflix shows etc. somewhat outweighs it. So in France for instance we end up speaking a weird mishmash of Hollywood/NYC/Gangsta Rap/British RP + heavy frrrench accenttt ;)
+1
Level 55
Nov 23, 2020
Why is bays not accepted?
+1
Level 56
Jan 7, 2021
Exactly! And bass does not sound at all like base...
+7
Level 49
Jan 26, 2022
It meant "bass" like the instrument, not like the fish.
+3
Level 52
Jan 28, 2022
Which is pretty obvious, given the huge bass clef at the top of the quiz!
+1
Level 56
Jan 7, 2021
Well should be accepted for whale too..
+1
Level 49
Jan 26, 2022
I agree. We don't pronounce the "wh" sound at all where I live. If you do, people make fun of you and then make a Stewie reference like you're trying to say "cool whip".
+3
Level 56
Jun 10, 2022
The difference between well and whale is not the wh sound but the vowel sound: well as in el (elevator, el train) and whale as in ale, ail. Regional differences apply, as usual.
+1
Level 75
Jan 27, 2022
Like hell it should!
+3
Level 72
May 10, 2021
Whet and whale both pronounce the h unlike wet and wail
+2
Level 70
Jun 14, 2021
So in Homophones 3, 'pique' rhymed with 'peak' but now in Homophones 4 'clique' rhymes with 'click' ?! US pronunciation is fascinating...
+1
Level 49
Jan 26, 2022
Agreed.
+1
Level 57
Aug 1, 2021
a lot of repeats in #4
+2
Level 74
Nov 22, 2021
Anyone else try I'll for Aisle
+1
Level 56
Jun 10, 2022
Yes; see comments above
+5
Level 75
Jan 26, 2022
What's the difference between a cat and a comma?

A cat has claws at the end of its paws, while a comma has a pause at the end of its clause.

+1
Level 49
Jan 26, 2022
Ha!
+1
Level 90
Jan 26, 2022
Tort and torte should be added as correct i feel...
+1
Level 55
Jan 26, 2022
How's about tot? Like tater tots...
+7
Level 63
Jan 26, 2022
'Lien' is pronounced 'Lee-en', 'mourning' is not pronounced 'morning' except in the USA, and 'clique' is 'cleek' not 'click' anywhere. There are colloquialisms and there are things that are just wrong.
+3
Level 75
Jan 26, 2022
I was surprised that nobody else had mentioned lien in the comments up until now. And I also agree with clique. However, morning and mourning are the same in the UK as far as I am concerned
+4
Level 56
Nov 5, 2024
In NZ lean and lien, clique and click and morning mourning all sound the same, well to me anyways.
+1
Level 80
Nov 6, 2024
Even the OED has the same phonetics for morning and mourning.
+1
Level 70
Mar 2, 2025
«morning» and «mourning» are homophones in dialects which have the horse-hoarse merger, which represents the majority of dialects aside from scottish and caribbean and some other english accents...

I think you can make an exception for this one

+4
Level 69
Jan 26, 2022
i thought lien was pronounced like lee- un? and also i have always heard clique like cleek and not clik - like the french?
+1
Level 52
Jan 28, 2022
Agree with both.
+1
Level 64
Jan 26, 2022
Did ok, but never heard of lien, every day is a school day :-)
+1
Level 86
Jan 26, 2022
'Shute' was not accepted. Seems perfectly acceptable to Scrabble.
+2
Level 49
Jan 26, 2022
Everytime I see a British-vs.-American-English face-off, I feel like I'm reliving the Revolution all over again. Good fun. I like to pretend that the war really started during a rousing round of scrabble.
+1
Level 47
Jan 26, 2022
50%, but at least I learned a few new words.
+2
Level 64
Jan 26, 2022
Bass singer here. Somehow I managed to get them all except "bass."
+1
Level 86
Jan 27, 2022
Would baize be a homophone for base?
+1
Level 75
Jan 27, 2022
"Morning

Mourning"

Unbelievable!

+1
Level 67
Jan 27, 2022
Bass does not sound like base. Bays should be accepted.
+3
Level 83
Jan 27, 2022
I feel like there should be a disclaimer on these quizzes to specify what accent is being used, especially since homophones are so dependent on it
+1
Level 65
Oct 24, 2022
'bays' is also a homophone of 'base'.
+1
Level 54
May 9, 2024
base is pronounced less soft
+1
Level 80
Nov 6, 2024
Bays ends in a z sound. Base and bass end in soft s sounds.
+1
Level 70
Mar 2, 2025
bays /beɪz/, base /beɪs/

some dialects like mine (en-CA) there's a vowel length difference too

+1
Level 23
Feb 27, 2024
Full marks (for once)! Although l hammered on "lean" for well over a minute. Tried everything (line, leen, leign, liegn, lighn, etc) before getting "lien" by fluke (don't even know its meaning).
+1
Level 65
Nov 7, 2024
lien was the only one I missed, when the time ran out I was expecting something obvious to pop up and make me feel foolish, only slightly relieved to see it was actually a word I had never heard of before.
+2
Level 54
May 9, 2024
i pronounce 7/24 words in this quiz differently
+4
Level 63
Nov 5, 2024
Look, 'clique' is not pronounced 'click', it's pronounced 'cleek'. Anywhere, period!!! And properly pronounced, 'morning' is not pronounced 'mourning' because the latter has a long 'o' sound, as in 'bone' whereas morning is short as in 'dock'. And you should check out 'lien': it has TWO syllables, 'lee-an'. That's not regional, it's just wrong ...
+1
Level 64
Nov 6, 2024
You made me me think of the policeman in "allo allo" - Good Moaning!
+2
Level 56
Nov 5, 2024
lien (lee-un) and lean (leen) are not homophones

Neither are clique (kleek) and click (klik).

+1
Level 39
Nov 5, 2024
Learned the word "jamb" today.
+1
Level 70
Nov 5, 2024
"Wait, isn't there a french word that when spoken with an English accent would sound like that English word?"
+1
Level 46
Nov 5, 2024
'Click' has two homophone, clique and klick (a shortening of kilometer)
+1
Level 56
Nov 6, 2024
How about Brett for Bread, Yam for Jam , Well for Whale and Claus for Claws?
+2
Level 74
Nov 6, 2024
I suggest accepting censer.
+3
Level 65
Nov 8, 2024
Only Americans pronounce "clique" to rhyme with "click". It is supposed to rhyme with "creek".
+1
Level 31
Nov 10, 2024
"Seed" had me stumped, I didn't even know "cede" was a word