It's a strange story how our homophone list started—revealing how truly weird my father and I are—but it's worth telling.
More than 20 years ago, some time in the mid-1980s, I stayed home sick from school. My father happened to be sick that day as well, so both of us found ourselves bored to tears, desperately searching for something to occupy our minds. Apparently one of us (I can't remember which one) suggested we try to make a list of as many homophones as we could think of. Now that's what I call exciting! (Hey, I warned you—we're weird!)
And so we did; we started compiling a list of homophones—words that sound the same, but have different spellings.
And believe it or not, this homophone fetish continued for years…and it still continues! (Now you're probably thinking we've really gone over the edge!)
But it's true! Although my father and I live several hundred miles apart,* we still call each other when we come across a homophone we think we may have missed on the list. In fact, just this week my father added cingular/singular.
We now have well over 3500 homophones in our list. Click here to view the entire list on the Homophones List page. (You can also download the a pdf of the list there.)
*We are actually next door neighbors now, but he still emails, texts, or visits me in person to share the new discovery!
hi there:
my daughter, amy, sent me the link to your homophone list. soon thereafter, when i asked
how the list was started, she sent me the info
to your blog.
wonderful reading!! precious pictures. absolutely presh, as my other daughter, betsy, would say.
thinking of your mom, prayerfully.
blessings,
sara b.
in the north georgia mountains
Love this! I sent a link to my Dad b/c we are just like you and your father. He loved it, too! With that said, you are NOT weird at all. There are others like you. I pray that I pass on my love of learning to my boys (4 and 2), just as you are to your children. Thank you for your blog. You and other homeschool moms are an inspiration!
I think mien/mean is left off the list.
@Wei-Hwa Huang,
Sorry, I meant the plural form — means, miens.
Joy,
I want to thank you profoundly for the homophone list. I'm the mom (and soon to be teaching/guiding mom) of a lovely 3yo girl. I'm also in possession of a Masters' Degree that required a thesis.
I've already linked the homophones to my friends on facebook, and will be printing the PDF for my own use! I saw many of my typing/usage problems listed on that long, long list of lovely words. I shall be going through the list, determining which I use incorrectly (or inconsistently) and working to rectify that situation.
Thank You again.
Weird or not, Thanks so much. Never in a million years would I have had time nor would have been able to take the time to figure out all the homophones to make a list. I teach 3rd grade and we struggle with homophones all the time no matter how much I reteach it. Giving my students a resource like this to use will be a great asset to my room.
I LOVE this!