5 pairs of words that look or sound similar (or same) but have different meaning

Hello Everyone!

Do you know that there are pairs of words in English which look or sound similar or even same but they carry different meanings? There are plenty of them! Unfortunately, they are confusing for many students and many people have problems with both spelling and pronunciation. Today I prepared 5 pairs of such words and I hope that this post will help you to broaden your vocabulary and teach you how to use them correctly!

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RAW /rɔː/ 

definition: food or product which is not cooked

e.g. raw meat, raw vegetables

synonyms: uncooked, fresh, undone

sentence: I’m cooking a dinner, but we have to wait about 20 minutes, the chicken is still raw.

ROW /rəʊ/

definition: people or things arranged in a way that they create a line

synonyms: chain, formation

sentence: She is the most famous fashion editor, she always sits in the first row during the fashion shows.

   

     WIND /waɪnd/

      definition: turning the clock or watch to set time

synonyms: bend, turn

sentence: Oh no! I haven’t wound my watch and now I don’t know what time is! I wil be late for the train!

WIND /waɪnd/

definition: to wrap sth around itself or around sth else

synonyms: twist, wrap, tangle

sentence: You should put on your jacket and wind a scarf around your neck. It’s windy today.

CONTRACT /ˈkɒntrækt/ 

definition: a written legal agreement between 2 people or businesses which states what they must do or give for each other.

synonyms: agreement, deal  

sentence: OMG! Now I’m rich! I have just signed 1 mln USD contract with an oil company! 

CONTRACT /kənˈtrækt/

definition: if sth contracts, it becomes smaller, shorter

e.g. steel contracts, metal contracts, output contracts, economy contracts

synonyms: shrink, compact

sentence: In spoken English, "are not" often contracts to "aren't".

      ENTRANCE /ˈentrəns/

definition: the place that gives you the access to a building, room or area

e.g. garden entrance, main entrance

synonyms: entry, doorway

sentence: My boyfriends is waiting for you at the entrance to the main building.

ENTRANCE /ɪnˈtrɑːns/

definition: to make somone feel excited, impressed, enthusiastic

e.g. sth. or someone beautiful or impressive can entrance you

synonyms: inspire, attract, enchant, delight

sentence: He entranced the audience with his beautiful voice.

LABOUR /ˈleɪbə(r)/

definition: a group of workers in a particular country, industry or company

e.g. labour cost, skilled labour

synonyms: staff, workforce

sentence: Nowadays, the demand for skilled labour is very high.

LABOUR /ˈleɪbə(r)/
definition: giving birth to a baby
e.g. to go into labour
       to be in labour
synonyms: birth
sentence: She went into labour yesterday evening.
                She was in labour for 7 hours.

 

LABOR /ˈleɪbə(r)/

American spelling of labour

Do you know any other homophones? :)

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