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Archive Language Point 142

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Homophones 2

News imageTim, Helen holding the phone and Khalid in the living room
A homophone is a word which is pronounced the same as another word but spelt differently. For example, two (She has two sisters), too (Can I have a coffee too please?) and to (I'm going to lunch).

Homophones from episode 142: I, eye and aye

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I'd like to book a court please.
He was in a fight and someone punched him in the eye.
Scottish people sometimes say 'aye' for 'yes'.

hire and higher:

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When you were on holiday, did you hire a car?
The cost of living is just getting higher and higher these days.

racquet and racket:

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Can I borrow your squash racquet?
Children, be quiet! Stop all this racket at once!

Note: The sporting word for 'bat' can be spelt 'racquet' and 'racket'

balls and bawls:

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Have you got the tennis balls?
When the baby's hungry he bawls till his mother feeds him.

all and awl:

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All of you are invited. The more the merrier.
The cobbler put my shoe on the awl while he was working on it.

time and thyme:

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Excuse me, have you got the time please?
He uses lots of herbs (like basil and thyme) when he's cooking Italian food.

been and bean:

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Have you ever been to India?
I'll have the black bean soup please.

but and butt:

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I want to go on holiday but I've got no money.
She smoked her cigarette and then crushed the butt on the ground with her shoe.

would and wood:

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Would you like a coffee?
Paper is made from wood.

boys and buoys:

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They're got two boys and one girl.
The buoys showed the ships what parts of the water near the rocks were safe.

Vocabulary:

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courts
places where you play games such as tennis, badminton or volleyball

mixed doubles
a game, for example tennis or badminton, played by a team made up of one male and one female player

it's been years
it's been a long time

to book
to reserve something or to arrange to have a tennis court, a place at a restaurant, etc. at a particular time in the future

hang on
wait on the telephone

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