Unit 7: Short vowels, Part 2: i, o and u
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Homophones from this section: If you confuse these words the computer spellchecker will not spot your mistake - so it is especially important to learn them. |
| site - place sight - seen |
New houses are being built on that site. I saw a strange sight last night. |
| night - after dark knight - Sir |
Where were you last night? Knights were noblemen serving the King. |
| tire - 1) grow weary 2) US: on a wheel tyre - UK: on a wheel |
1) I have begun to tire of this book. 2) US: My car has two flat tires. UK: My car has two flat tyres. |
| Note: The rubber covering of a wheel is: tyre in the UK spelling. tire in the US spelling. |
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| bite - with the teeth byte - computer unit |
I hope your dog doesn't bite. One page of writing is about 1,000 bytes. |
| mite - 1) small - amount or child 2) insect might - 1) past tense of 'may' 2) strength |
1) She's only a little mite. 2) Dust mites can make you sneeze. 1) You might have forgotten. 2) The might of the army overcame the rebels. |
| tide - sea movement tied - knotted |
We fished in the rock pools at low tide. The cowboy tied his horse to the rail. |
| wine - drink whine - noise |
Wine is made from red or white grapes. The whine of the engine woke me up. |
| die - 1) stop living 2) one die, two dice dye - change colour |
1) Those flowers will die in a few days. 2) He threw the die and got a six. The dye has washed out of my jeans. |
| hire - pay to borrow higher - above |
We are going to hire a car in London. The higher shelf is out of my reach. |
| liar - one who tells lies lyre - musical instrument |
I don't trust him, he's a liar. A lyre is like a small harp. |
| time - minutes, hours etc. thyme - herb |
There's no time to waste. Add some thyme to the pasta sauce. |
| side - edge sighed - past tense of 'sigh' |
The lovers sat side by side. "I'm very tired," she sighed. |
| mind - 1) thought 2) object to mined - past tense of 'mine' |
1) He's over 90 but his mind is still sharp. 2) I don't mind your mother coming to stay. The land was mined for coal. |
| find - discover fined - made to pay |
What will I find in this box? She was fined for speeding in the town. |
| eye - use to see aye - yes |
The pirate had a patch over
one eye. In Scotland they still say 'aye' for 'yes'. |
| I'll - I will, I shall isle - island aisle - in church |
I'll print this page and learn the
words. The Isle of Skye is in Scotland. The bride walked down the aisle. |
| by - 1. beside 2. through buy - purchase bye - short for good-bye |
1. Come and sit by me. 2. Learn these words by writing them. She wants to buy a new dress. "Bye-bye," said the little girl. |
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| write - with a pen. right - 1) not left 2) correct rite - ceremony wright - maker |
Write it down so you don't forget. 1) We don't drive on the right in England. 2) How many words did you get right? Some churches use incense in their rites. A playwright writes plays. |
| quiet and quite These two words are not strictly homophones: quite has one syllable, quiet has two. However, they are often confused - and the computer spellchecker will not spot your mistake. Make quite sure you are quite certain which is which: |
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| quite - 1) Completely 2) More or less, partly quiet - Not noisy |
You are quite right. He's quite good-looking. Please be quiet, I'm trying to rest. |
Go to the next part of this unit:
Spelling the long vowel sound /ō/.
The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.
"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."
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