Grammar for Fiction Writers: Busy Writer's Guides Book (2014)
APPENDIX B. 200 Commonly Confused Words
This list is by no means comprehensive. The English language is full of words that sound alike or look alike, but this is a list of the 200 sets that we’ve most commonly seen confused. It gives you a place to start in building your own personal list.
ail, ale
air, heir
aisle, I’ll, isle
allowed, aloud
altar, alter
arc, ark
ate, eight
oar, or, ore
axel, axle
bail, bale
ball, bawl
bare, bear
baron, barren
bazaar, bizarre
beach, beech
bean, been
beat, beet
beau, bow
beer, bier
berth, birth
blew, blue
boarder, border
born, borne
bough, bow
boy, buoy
brake, break
bread, bred
bridal, bridle
broach, brooch
buy, by, bye
cede, seed
ceiling, sealing
cell, sell
cent, scent, sent
cereal, serial
cite, sight, site
coal, kohl
coarse, course
colonel, kernel
complement, compliment
council, counsel
creak, creek
cue, queue
currant, current
cymbol, symbol
dear, deer
descent, dissent
desert, dessert
dew, due
die, dye
discreet, discrete
doe, dough
dose, doze
dual, duel
earn, urn
ewe, yew, you
faint, feint
fair, fare
faun, fawn
faze, phase
feat, feet
fir, fur
flair, flare
flea, flee
flew, flu, flue
flour, flower
for, fore, four
foreword, forward
forth, fourth
foul, fowl
gait, gate
genes, jeans
gild, guild
gilt, guilt
gorilla, guerilla
grate, great
greave, grieve
grisly, grizzly
groan, grown
hail, hale
hair, hare
hall, haul
hangar, hanger
hart, heart
heal, heel, he’ll
hear, here
heard, herd
hew, hue
higher, hire
hoard, horde
hoarse, horse
holey, holy, wholly
hour, our
idle, idol
knead, need
knew, new
knight, night
knit, nit
knock, nock
knot, not
know, no
lain, lane
lam, lamb
laps, lapse
leach, leech
leak, leek
lie, lye
loan, lone
lose, loose
mail, male
main, mane
maize, maze
mantel, mantle
marshal, martial
meat, meet
medal, meddle
moor, more
moose, mousse
morning, mourning
muscle, mussel
naval, navel
none, nun
one, won
or, ore, oar
pail, pale
pain, pane
pair, pare, pear
pause, paws
pea, pee
peace, piece
peak, peek, pique
peal, peel
pedal, peddle
peer, pier
plain, plane
plum, plumb
praise, prays, preys
principal, principle
rain, reign, rein
read, reed
real, reel
reek, wreak
rest, wrest
retch, wretch
right, rite, write
ring, wring
road, rode
role, roll
root, route
rose, rows
rung, wrung
rye, wry
spade, spayed
sale, sail
scene, seen
seam, seem
seas, sees, seize
sew, so, sow
shear, sheer
sink, synch
slay, sleigh
sole, soul
some, sum
son, sun
stair, stare
stake, steak
stationary, stationery
steal, steel
straight, strait
sweet, suite
tale, tail
team, teem
tear, tier
there, their, they’re
throne, thrown
thyme, time
tic, tick
tide, tied
to, too, two
toad, toed, towed
vain, vane, vein
vial, vile
wail, whale
waist, waste
wait, weight
waive, wave
ware, wear, where
way, weigh, whey
weak, week
weather, whether
wet, whet
which, witch
while, wile
whine, wine
whirl, whorl
whit, wit
woe, whoa
wood, would
your, you’re
yoke, yolk