Homonym Tutorial

The dictation exercise will most likely include some homonyms, words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

In preparation for the dictation exercise, therefore, you should become skilled at avoiding, detecting, and correcting homonym errors in the sentences you transcribe.

Practice these skills by choosing the correct homonym in each of the sentences below. After you have made a mental note of your choice, click on the underlined pair to check your answer.

For more intensive practice, have a friend read these sentences aloud to you while you record them, then check your version against the answer key.

1. It's/Its a fine day for a picnic.
    
2. A spokesperson declined to say whether/weather major announcements are planned.
    
3. The drug company will add a stronger warning to it's/its labels about the risks of some ingredients.
    
4. This German election resembles more than/then ever an American presidential contest.
    
5. Democrats want to focus on their/they're winning issue: the economy.
    
6. I disagree with the view that President Abraham Lincoln was not wholly/holy committed to ending slavery.
    
7. Defendants in the case want records sealed to hide there/their bad behavior.
    
8. Consumer advocates have long argued that the public is harmed when courts are too/to willing to allow secret settlements.
    
9. Each case should be evaluated on an individual basis to know, after having reviewed the evidence, whether/weather a protective order is necessary.
    
10. That old television has seen the last of it's/its days.
     
11. People who don't know they're/their infected could inadvertently donate tainted blood.
     
12. There is no way to know/no how much of the nation's blood supply is tainted by the virus.
     
13. Consumers lost confidence in the food supply, and tourism was severely curtailed, to/too.
     
14. Around here, your/you're hard-pressed to find anyone who has heard/herd of last year's pie-eating contest winner.
     
15. This comic book contains many allusions/illusions to the Bible.
     
16. The scam artist, who had cheated countless senior citizens out of their pension funds, obviously had no conscience/conscious.
     
17. Whose/who's car is that blocking the driveway?
     
18. I can't believe I ate the hole/whole thing.
     
19. This box is far to/too/two heavy for me to carry by myself.
     
20. Fewer than one fourth/forth of the residents in this remote place own a television.
     
21. Didn't you hear/here me? I said bring that over hear/here.
     
22. I'll take that remark about my new hair cut as a compliment/complement.
     
23. Although the sound of Shakespeare's language thrilled her, Denisha pretended to be bored/board during the teacher's reading of Lady Macbeth's monologue.
     
24. Money can't buy/bye you love.
     
25. The shrine to the Virgin Mother is a holy/wholly place
    .
26. In this is a picture of Hurricane Isidore, seen from a weather/whether plane at an altitude of 7,000 feet, you can see the eye of the storm.
     
27. A few patients who complain of muscle aches when taking the drugs may be suffering from a toxic side affect/effect.
     
28. Neglect during infancy has lasting affects/effects on an individual's emotional health.
     
29. The media directly affects/effects the incidence of eating disorders among teenage girls.
     
30. Everything comes included for the list price of this car except/accept air-conditioning.
     
31. He was willing to accept/except divorce, but the hefty settlement made it easier to accept/except gracefully.
     
32. I used to/use to feel blue whenever it rained, but now that I have a neon pink slicker, I look forward to showers.
     
33. Those who feel that your/you're not suppose/supposed to color outside of the lines tend to have parents who stifled their creativity at a very young age.
     
34. Bubba knew he should not of/should not have driven after drinking, but he convinced himself that five beers would not affect/effect his motor control.
     
35. Julia could have/could of been a contender for the national arm-wrestling championship, but she decided instead to devote herself to competitive alligator-wrestling.