Homophones · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Homophones

English · Spelling & Word Study · ages 7-9
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which sentence uses the correct spelling?

    • The dog wagged it's tail.
    • The dog wagged its tail.
    • The dog wagged its' tail.

  2. Which is the correct spelling of the word 'vein'?

    • vein
    • vayn
    • veign

  3. Which word names the part of a bike that slows it down?

    • Break
    • Brake
    • Branch

  4. Which word means to snap or smash something?

    • Break
    • Brake
    • Bake

  5. The lesson says words like vein, eight, grey, and neighbour are worth learning by heart. Why?

    • Because they are tricky to say out loud
    • Because they are the longest words in English
    • Because the long ay sound can be spelled ei, eigh, or ey, with no easy rule

  6. Nina wants to check that 'great' is the right spelling in 'We had a great time.' Which word could she swap in to check?

    • wonderful
    • shred
    • cheese

  7. Choose the correct word: 'Loud music can ___ your hearing over time.'

    • effect
    • affect
    • effact

  8. The words 'grate' and 'great' sound the same but mean different things.

    Circle one:   True   False

  9. Ava wrote: 'The storm had a terrible affect on the town.' What mistake did she make?

    • She should have written 'afect'
    • She should have written 'effect'
    • There is no mistake

  10. Sam wrote: 'The cat licked it's paws.' What mistake did he make?

    • He should have written 'licks' instead of 'licked'
    • There is no mistake
    • He should have written 'its' instead of 'it's'
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Homophones W1-mt_37QCuGOxFe-s1

  1. The dog wagged its tail. · 'Its' shows the tail belongs to the dog. 'It's' would mean 'it is', which doesn't fit here.
  2. vein · Vein is spelled with ei for the long ay sound. It is one of the ay words worth learning by heart.
  3. Brake · The brake is the part that slows a bike or car. Break means to snap or smash something.
  4. Break · Break means to snap or smash something. Brake is a different word for the part that slows a vehicle down.
  5. Because the long ay sound can be spelled ei, eigh, or ey, with no easy rule · One sound can be spelled ei, eigh, or ey, and no rule tells you which one a word uses, so you learn each word by heart.
  6. wonderful · Great means wonderful, so swapping in wonderful keeps the sentence's meaning. That shows great is the right spelling.
  7. affect · Affect is usually the action word, meaning to change something. Effect is usually the result.
  8. True · They are homophones: grate means to shred, and great means excellent.
  9. She should have written 'effect' · The sentence names the result of the storm, and the result word is effect. Affect is the action word.
  10. He should have written 'its' instead of 'it's' · The paws belong to the cat, so the word is its with no apostrophe. It's would mean it is.
Worksheet · LightMySky