What exactly is a homophone?

A homophone is a word that sounds identical to another word but has a different spelling and meaning. 'Their', 'there', and 'they're' are homophones because they all sound the same when spoken aloud, yet each has a distinct meaning and spelling. The word comes from the Greek 'homo' (same) and 'phone' (sound).

Do 11+ examiners really mark down for homophone mistakes?

Yes. Mixing up homophones is treated as a spelling or grammar error depending on the context. Using 'there' when you mean 'their' in a creative writing piece will cost marks in SPaG, and it can make your writing confusing for the reader. Examiners notice these mistakes quickly because they're so common.

Is the practice/practise difference a British English thing?

Yes. In British English, 'practise' (with an S) is the verb and 'practice' (with a C) is the noun. The same pattern applies to advise/advice and license/licence. In American English, 'practice' is used for both. Since 11+ exams use British English, you need to learn the distinction.

My child keeps writing 'could of' instead of 'could have'. Is that a homophone problem?

It's closely related. When people say 'could've' (could have), it sounds like 'could of', which leads to the error in writing. It's not technically a homophone pair, but the fix is the same: explain the meaning behind the phrase. 'Could have' makes grammatical sense because 'have' is a helper verb. 'Could of' means nothing. Once children understand that, the mistake usually stops.

What's the quickest way to stop making homophone errors?

The fastest approach is to learn one pair at a time, practise using each word in sentences, and then proofread specifically for homophones as a separate step. During proofreading, read your work backwards sentence by sentence. This forces you to look at individual words rather than reading for meaning, which makes homophone mistakes jump out.

Homophones That Trip Up 11+ Students

What Are Homophones and Why Do They Matter?

Homophones are words that sound exactly the same but have different spellings and meanings. The word itself comes from Greek: homo (same) + phone (sound). English is packed with them, and they cause more errors in 11+ papers than almost any other spelling issue.

The tricky thing is that spellcheck won't catch most homophone mistakes. If you write "there dog is friendly", a computer sees a perfectly valid English word and moves on. Only a human reader notices you've used the wrong one. That's why 11+ examiners pay close attention to these.

Key Takeaway: Homophone errors look careless rather than ambitious. Examiners can forgive a misspelling of a difficult word, but mixing up "their" and "there" suggests a gap in understanding. Getting these right is one of the easiest ways to protect your SPaG marks.

Child writing in a notebook, practising spelling and vocabulary

The Big Three: Their / There / They're

This is the homophone trio that trips up more students than any other. Let's sort them out once and for all.

Their = belonging to them. "Their house is on the corner."
There = a place, or used to introduce something. "The book is over there." / "There was a loud crash."
They're = they are (contraction). "They're going to the park."

Memory trick: Their contains "heir" — an heir inherits something that belongs to someone. There contains "here" — both are about places. They're has an apostrophe because letters have been removed (they are → they're).

Quick test: Try replacing the word with "they are". If the sentence still makes sense, use they're. If not, ask: am I talking about a place? Use there. Otherwise, use their.

"They're leaving their coats over there." — All three in one sentence. Read it slowly and check each one.

Your and You're

Your = belonging to you. "Is this your pencil?"
You're = you are (contraction). "You're doing really well."

Quick test: Replace the word with "you are". If the sentence works, use you're. If it doesn't, use your.

"You are doing really well" — makes sense, so it's you're.

"Is this you are pencil?" — makes no sense, so it's your.

Why this matters: Writing "your welcome" instead of "you're welcome" is one of the most common errors in English, and it appears frequently in 11+ creative writing. Adults make this mistake too, which tells you how easy it is to let slip if you're not paying attention.

To, Too, and Two

To = direction or purpose. "I walked to school." / "She wanted to help."
Too = also, or excessively. "Can I come too?" / "It was too hot."
Two = the number 2. "I have two cats."

Memory trick: Too has an extra O because it means "too much" or "also" (as if one O wasn't enough). Two is easy — it's just the number. Everything else is to.

"I wanted to go to the park too, but the two bridges were closed."

Where, Wear, and Were

Where = a question about place. "Where did you put my bag?"
Wear = to have clothing on. "I'll wear my blue jumper."
Were = past tense of "are". "They were late for class."

Memory trick: Where contains "here" (both about place). Wear contains "ear" — you wear earrings. Were is the odd one out and relates to the verb "to be".

Affect and Effect

This pair confuses adults just as much as children, so don't feel bad about finding it tricky.

Affect = the verb (the action). "The rain affected the match."
Effect = the noun (the result). "The effect was dramatic."

Memory trick: Affect = Action (verb). Effect = End result (noun). Both start with the same letter as their definition.

"The cold weather affected the crops. The effect was devastating."

There is a rare exception: "effect" can be a verb meaning "to bring about" ("The new headteacher effected many changes"), but this usage is uncommon and unlikely to appear in an 11+ paper.

Practice and Practise

In British English, these two words are spelt differently depending on whether you mean the noun or the verb.

Practice (with a C) = the noun. "Football practice starts at four."
Practise (with an S) = the verb. "I need to practise my spelling."

Memory trick: Advice (noun) and advise (verb) follow the exact same pattern. If you can remember one pair, you've got both. The noun has a C, the verb has an S.

This same pattern applies to licence (noun) / license (verb). "He has a driving licence" but "The council will license the restaurant."

More Tricky Pairs

Which / witch — Which is a question word; a witch rides a broomstick. "Which book is yours?" / "The witch cast a spell."
Its / it's — Its = belonging to it (no apostrophe for possession); it's = it is or it has. "The dog wagged its tail." / "It's raining."
Who's / whose — Who's = who is or who has; whose = belonging to whom. "Who's coming tonight?" / "Whose coat is this?"
Passed / past — Passed is always a verb (the past tense of "pass"); past is everything else (noun, adjective, preposition). "She passed the ball." / "She walked past the shop."
Led / lead — Led is the past tense of "lead" (the verb). Lead (pronounced "led") is the metal. "She led the group across the field." / "The pipe was made of lead."
Hear / here — Hear = to listen (it contains "ear"). Here = a place. "Can you hear that sound?" / "Come over here."

Twenty-Question Homophone Quiz

Choose the correct word for each gap. Write your answers on paper, then check below.

_____ going to be late if we don't hurry. (Their / There / They're)
Is that _____ new bicycle? (your / you're)
The children ran _____ the gate and into the playground. (to / too / two)
I can't decide _____ one to pick. (which / witch)
The dog buried _____ bone in the garden. (its / it's)
The noise didn't _____ her concentration. (affect / effect)
She needs more _____ before the concert. (practice / practise)
_____ is my homework? I left it on the table. (Where / Wear / Were)
The team _____ thrilled to win the trophy. (where / wear / were)
We need to _____ our times tables every day. (practice / practise)
The _____ of the new rule was immediate. (affect / effect)
"_____ invited to my birthday party," said Tom. (Your / You're)
Put _____ bags over _____ by the door. (their / there / they're)
"_____ raining again," sighed Mum. "Grab _____ umbrella." (Its / It's) (your / you're)
The captain _____ the team onto the pitch. (led / lead)
She walked _____ the old church on her way to school. (passed / past)
The _____ friends shared _____ sandwiches. (to / too / two) (their / there / they're)
Can you _____ the birds singing over _____? (hear / here)
_____ coat is hanging on the wrong peg? (Who's / Whose)
"That's _____ cold for me," she said. "I'll _____ my thick coat." (to / too) (where / wear / were)

Answers: 1. They're, 2. your, 3. to, 4. which, 5. its, 6. affect, 7. practice, 8. Where, 9. were, 10. practise, 11. effect, 12. You're, 13. their / there, 14. It's / your, 15. led, 16. past, 17. two / their, 18. hear / here, 19. Whose, 20. too / wear.

Score yourself out of 20. If you scored 16 or above, brilliant work. If you scored below 16, identify which pairs you mixed up and focus your revision on those. For more tricky word pairs beyond homophones, see our guide to words 11+ students confuse.