Words can give us many problems all the time. Homonyms are words that sound the same, but have different meanings and are spelled differently. These words can cause a writer to say something that they don’t mean and end up sounding like a third grader. There is hope on the horizon though. This list will go through confusing words and homonyms from “M” to “Q”, but if you missed any previous posts you can find them here.
Made: to create. “We made a house out of sticks.”
Maid: a cleaning person. “Cinderella was a maid for her stepmother.”
Mail: correspondence. “Go get the mail!”
Male: opposite of female. “Male animals have an extra appendage between their legs.”
Main: primary. “Use the main exit when we burn the house down.”
Mane: long hair. “Let’s braid the lions mane.”
Manner: behavior. “If you continue to behave in this manner I will have to shoot you.”
Manor: residence. “The 18th century manor has sixteen rooms with only one lavatory.”
Marry: to be wed. “Jack won’t marry Jill because he wants to marry Jeremy.”
Merry: to be happy. “His merry smile lit up the room.”
Meat: animal flesh. “Zombies eat the meat of people.”
Meet: an event or to touch. “The meet is at two o’clock.” or “Our hands meet in the middle.”
Mind: intelligence or to obey. “She has a brilliant mind.” or “You better mind your mother or I’m going to wash your mouth out with soap.”
Mined: excavated ores. “Frank mined the coal for the corporation.”
Miner: someone who extracts ores. “Frank is a miner.”
Minor: someone under age or small. “She’s only twelve, so she’s a minor.” or “This is only a minor mistake.”
Missed: failed to hit. “He missed his target and the cow got away.”
Mist: fog. “The mist comes into the bay in waves of white.”
Mood: a state of emotion. “Matt is in a foul mood this morning like always.”
Mooed: the sound a cow made. “Sally the cow mooed all night long at the beautiful moon.”
Morning: beginning of the day. “The sun is shinning brightly this morning.”
Mourning: sorrow or grieving. “We are mourning the loss of our beloved cow Sally”
Mustard: yellow condiment. “If you put mustard on my hamburger I’m going to attack you.”
Mustered: gathered. “He mustered up the courage to ask her to the dance.”
Naval: pertaining to ships. “The naval base is right by the water and it contains all of the gray war ships.”
Navel: belly button. “Pull your shirt down; your navel is showing.”
None: not any. “I want an apple, but there are none.”
Nun: female member of a religious order. “The nun holds her rosary in her hands as she prays.”
Oar: a paddle for rowing. “Don’t let the oar fall into the lake.”
Or: conjunction. “You can have chocolate or nothing at all!”
Ore: metal bearing mineral. “We found an iron ore when digging for gold.”
On: to be on top of something. “She is on the roof.”
Onto: the act of getting on. “She is going to go onto the roof.”
One: single unit. “There is only one answer and that is my answer, which is the correct one.”
Won: past tense of win. “The math-lets won the pi competition.”
Overdo: to excess. “Don’t overdo your makeup, you’ll end up looking like a hooker.”
Overdue: past due. “Your books are overdue by a week and a half.”
Packed: past tense of pack. “We packed last night.”
Pact: an agreement. “Let’s make a pact to never stab each other again.”
Pail: a bucket. “Don’t spill the milk pail because I want soggy cereal this morning.”
Pale: lacking color. “The pale light does not help the campers see very well.”
Pair: two of something. “The pair of lovers held hands eternally in the black box.”
Pare: to remove or peel. “I will pare the orange so I can get to the delicious middle.”
Pear: type of fruit. “I will have a pear today instead of an apple.”
Palate: roof of the mouth. “To vampires, blood tastes wonderful on the palate.”
Pallet: portable platform. “Bring the pallet to the middle of the stage so we can stand on it.”
Palette: a board to hold and mix colors. “He mixed orange and blue on his palette.”
Passed: past tense of pass. “We have passed this house twice already.”
Past: the time before the present. “The past will always haunt us.”
Patience: willing to wait. “You must have patience if you want to lose weight.”
Patients: people under the care of a doctor. “You let the patients escape from the psych ward!”
Peace: calm. “The sea is at peace tonight without crashing waves.”
Piece: a portion of something. “I want a piece of cake.”
Plain: simple, without extravagance. “Her dress is so plain it could be a rag.”
Plane: flat surfaces or short for airplane. “The cattle graze on the plane.” or “The plane will land in twenty minutes.”
Pole: a piece of wood or metal. “Put the pole against the fence so it won’t fall.”
Poll: a survey. “The poll asked voters if they preferred cheese over crackers.”
Pore: a small hole. “My pore is filled with pus.”
Pour: to send liquid. “Pour one cup of oil into the pan before you begin.”
Praise: approval. “The teacher did not speak words of praise to the evil class.”
Prays: make a request to a higher being. “The mouse prays to the cheese.”
Preys: huts for food. “A cat preys upon a fly.”
Presence: appearance. “Your presence is requested at the Living Dead Festival.”
Presents: gifts or offers. “She received many presents at her birthday party.”
Pries: wedges open. “She desperately pries open the ice cream.”
Prize: reward. “The prize is a ham sandwich and a cucumber salad.”
Profit: gain. “Our profit this quarter is down by two percent.”
Prophet: a seer or predictor. “The mouse believes that the cheese is a prophet of good and evil in its future.”
Pros: experts or professionals. “Let the pros handle the schizophrenic.”
Prose: literature. “Please read Hinton’s prose before you come to class tomorrow.”
Quarts: units to measure liquid. “Place two quarts of orange juice into the blender.”
Quartz: a mineral. “He has a shinny quartz ring that glimmers in the sun.”
Very interesting