Lesson 71 - Words Pronounced Alike (Homophones) (Student Worksheet)

PRIMARY SPELLING & PHONICS • GRADE 2–3 HOMOPHONES & ORTHOGRAPHY STUDENT WORKSHEET • PAGE 1 OF 2

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“Words that sound exactly alike to the ear but have different spellings and completely different meanings are called homophones. Study the pairs I and eye (/aɪ/), and right and write (/raɪt/). Notice the silent letters that tell their stories!”

Homophone Pair Exploration & Tracing — Study the pronunciation and meaning, then write each word:

I /aɪ/

Personal pronoun (always capital).

eye /aɪ/

Organ of sight (plural: eyes).

right /raɪt/

Correct, true, or opposite of left.

write /raɪt/

To form letters with pen or pencil.

Contextual Discrimination (Wheeler's Dictation Exercises) — Write the correct homophone in each blank:

1. “_____ am old, so old _____ can _____ a letter.” (Choose I and write)

2. “Each day and every day, / Do what is _____.” (Choose right or write)

3. “The sun wakes up, and his round _____ / Stares and stares at the big round sky.” (Choose I or eye)

4. “Always write with your _____ hand, and choose the _____ path.” (Choose right)

Silent Letter Detective — Identify and explain the silent letters in each homophone:

Silent initial w- in write:

Why does write start with a silent w? Write your answer:

Silent trigraph -gh- in right:

What does silent -gh- tell us about the vowel sound? Write your answer:

Orthography & Etymology Rules to Remember:

1. Homophone Definition: Words that share the identical sound (/aɪ/, /raɪt/) but differ in spelling and meaning are homophones (homo = same, phone = voice/sound).

2. Silent Initial W in "Write": From Old English wrītan (to scratch or carve letters). The w went silent, but stays in spelling to distinguish writing from correctness!

3. Silent -GH- in "Right": From Old English riht. The historical throat sound vanished, leaving -gh- to signal that the preceding vowel i is long (/aɪ/).