In English it is possible for two different words - words with different spelling and different meaning - to have the same pronunciation. These are homophones. For example, mail and male and practice and practise. This occurs because English is not written in a strictly phonetic way. There are more than 400 pairs of homophones.
mail and male
The first means post and letters, the second is the opposite of female
brake and break
The first stops a car or bicycle from moving, the second means to damage something
wait and weight
The first is what you do at a bus stop, the second is measured in kilogrammes
read and red
The first is the past simple of 'to read', the second is the colour of danger
buy, by and bye
The first is to obtain something using money, the second is a preposition, the third is a shortened form of 'goodbye'
sore and soar
The first means something hurts, the second means to fly high in the sky
pause and paws
The first is a short gap in speech, the second are animals' feet
pores and pours
The first are small holes in the skin, the second is from the verb 'to pour water from a jug'
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practise and practice
Both mean to do something to get better at it. The first is the verb, the second the noun
license and licence
Both refer to official permission to do something. The first (in British English) is verb meaning to give the permission, the second is the noun and refers to the official document of permission
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aisle, isle and I'll
The first is the gap between columns of seats, the second is a small island, the third is a contraction of 'I will'
heel, heal and he'll
The first is the back of the bottom of your foot, the second means to repair an injury, the third is a contraction of 'he will'
your and you're
The first is a possessive pronoun, the second the contraction of 'you are'
there, their and they're
The first is an adverb, the second a possessive pronoun, the third a contraction of 'they are'
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a night-shift:
a period of work that takes place during the night
exhausted:
very tired
to revise for exams:
to do special preparation for an exam, when you look back at your earlier work
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