Blogging Tips

There are many words that make writers stumble over, but with this list of confusing words and homonyms you should be better equipped to avoid mistakes. If you missed any previous parts of this series click here.

Rain: water that falls from the sky. “The rain is coming down hard.”
Reign: to rule over people. “I reign over the elves and the woods.”
Rein: a harness. “Pull back on the right side of the rein and the horse will turn.”

Rap: a type of music or to strike sharply. “I don’t like rap music.” or “Rap on the door so we can go inside.”
Wrap: to cover. “Don’t forget to wrap the present.”

Rapped: struck sharply. “She rapped on the door so she could get in quickly to buy shoes.”
Rapt: fascinated. “He is rapt up in the comic book.”
Wrapped: covered. “Mindy wrapped the cat in a basket and forgot to leave air holes.”

Read: to understand writing. “I read everything already.”
Red: a color. “The beach ball is red and orange.”

Reek: to smell bad. “The cheese will reek if you leave it in the sun.”
Wreak: to cause trouble. “We will wreak havoc on the small town.”

Right: correct or opposite of left. “That is the right answer.” or “Turn right at the light.”
Rite: a ritual. “The blood rite will start at dawn.”
Write: to compose words. “Please write to me while you are away.”

Ring: sound of a bell or jewelry. “Ring the bell, the Devil is upon us!” or “He asked her to marry him with a ring.”
Wring: to twist. “Wring out the wet towel before you bring it in.”

Road: a street. “The road is paved in gold.”
Rode: past tense of ride. “He rode the cow as it walked slowly.”
Rowed: past tense of row. “Ivy rowed the boat with skill.”

Role: a part in a play. “Logan’s role in the play is to play a jester.”
Roll: to rotate. “Roll the dough on the table so we can cut out cookies.”

Roomer: one who rents a room. “We already have a roomer in our last available room.”
Rumor: gossip. “I heard a rumor about that girl, and it was nasty.”

Root: base of a plant. “The dying flower only has one root left.”
Route: a path. “Get your kicks on Route 66!”

Saver: someone who saves. “You’re a real life saver.”
Savor: to appreciate a taste. “Savor the creamy taste of real butter.”

Scene: a setting. “The scene takes place in Berlin.”
Seen: to have viewed. “I have seen the light, and it’s too bright.”

Sea: the ocean. “The sea is filled with millions of gallons of water.”
See: to view with the eyes. “I can see the painting clearly.”

Seam: a line formed by fabric sewn together. “Make sure the seam is straight so the dress looks right.”
Seem: appear. “I seem to have an extra arm coming out of my body.”

Seas: bodies of salt water. “The seven seas are teaming with life.”
Sees: views with eyes. “She sees the sign that you made for her.”
Seize: to grab a hold of. “Seize that bandit.”

Serf: slave. “Send the serf to the guillotine.”
Surf: to ride a wave. “Let’s surf in the bay this afternoon.”

Set: referring to a thing. “Set the basket by the door.”
Sit: referring to a person. “Sit yourself down.”

Sew: to stitch. “Make sure you sew the ends closed so we don’t lose any stuffing.”
So: in the manner indicated. “We want to go to the beach so we can see the sun setting over the water.”
Sow: to plant seeds. “Sow the seeds so we can have can have corn in the fall.”

Sewer: conduit for carrying waste. “Man holes go into the sewer.”
Suer: a person who sues. “We call her a suer because she sues everyone.”

Shear: to cut. “I want to shear the sheep before it gets too hot.”
Sheer: transparent. “That dress is sheer; you can’t wear it.”

Shoe: foot wear. “My left shoe is bigger than my right.”
Shoo: interjected used to make someone go away. “Shoo fly don’t bother me!”

Soar: to fly high. “Michael wishes he had wings so he could soar above the clouds.”
Sore: in pain. “Her bottom is sore from falling down on roller-blades.”

Soared: flew to great heights. “We soared next to the tops of buildings.”
Sword: a weapon. “He pulled a sword on me when my back was turned.”

Sole: bottom of the foot. “I have a splinter in my sole.”
Soul: spiritual part of people. “My soul hurts with the sorrow of ten thousand tears.”

Some: an unspecified number. “I want some Jelly Beans.”
Sum: the total of numbers by adding. “The sum of the contents of the basket is twelve tomatoes.”

Son: male offspring. “My son is on the honor roll.”
Sun: the orb in the sky. “The sun burns brightly.”

Sonny: alternative of son. “When I was your age sonny, I was already working in the coal mines.”
Sunny: lit by the sun or cheerful. “It is rather sunny today.” or “Her sunny disposition makes me smile.”

Stair: a step. “Take one stair at a time.”
Stare: to look without blinking. “He always has to stare at me when I tell him not to.”

Stake: a pole. “Put the stake in the ground to triangulate our position.”
Steak: a piece of meat. “I want to eat steak for dinner.”

Stationary: in one place. “Sit on the stationary bike until I’m ready to talk to you.”
Stationery: writing paper. “Will you give me some stationery for my birthday?”

Steal: to rob. “Lidia is going to steal the mascot of the school.”
Steel: metal. “I want to make a clothes rack out of steel.”

Sundae: ice cream with syrup. “Gerald will have a chocolate sundae with sprinkles.”
Sunday: a day of the week. “We will be attending church on Sunday.”

Tail: the last part of an animal. “Don’t pull the cats tail.”
Tale: a story. “Gather around children, I’m going to tell a tale of love.”

Taught: past tense of teach. “She taught us about the solar system today.”
Taut: pulled tightly. “The rope is taut.”

Tea: a drink. “I will have some tea with my lunch.”
Tee: a peg for a golf ball. “Make sure the tee is in place before you hit the ball.”

Tense: nervous strain. “My neck is tense because I’m very stressed out.”
Tents: shelters for camping. “Let’s set the tents up before we go for a hike.”

Than: used for comparison. “I like wheat bread more than white.”
Then: indicated time and answers when. “We will go to the store then to the mall.”

Their: possessive pronoun. “Their house is so beautiful.”
There: a location. “I want to go there for my Bar Mitzvah.”
They’re: contraction for they are. “They’re being mean to me.”

Threw: past tense of throw. “She threw us out of the house after we trashed her kitchen.”
Through: in one end and out the other. “I will go through the woods to get to grandma’s house.”

Throne: a royal seat. “How dare you sit on the kings throne.”
Thrown: tossed. “The baby was thrown from the monster into the arms of his mother.”

Thyme: a herb of the mint family. “Put some thyme in the soup for extra flavor.”
Time: past, present, and future. “The time is now eleven thirty.”

Tide: flow of the ocean. “The tide will come back in this evening.”
Tied: the past tense of tie. “She tied her shirt shut because it was ripped.”

To: in the direction of. “Let’s go to the mall.”
Too: also. “I want to get a new pair of shoes too.”
Two: the number after one. “You can only buy two candy bars at the store.”

Toad: a frog. “You have to kiss a toad to find your prince.”
Towed: pulled or hauled. “I had to have my car towed because the engine blew up.”

Troop: group of soldiers. “The troop is getting tired and many are wounded.”
Troupe: group of traveling performers. “The troupe is ready to perform when the audience is ready.”

While many of these errors never come up in our own writing, it’s good to know what errors people frequently make so we can avoid them for ourselves. There’s only a few more words to go through so don’t miss the last installment of Confusing Words and Homonyms.