Key & Quay

I think this must set the record for homophones with the fewest letters in common!

Hurdle & Hurtle

I know, I know, I said I wouldn't do homophones with The Lazy American T very often. Well, jeez, when's the last time I posted ANYTHING here, huh? I'd say this qualifies as "not very often." ;) 

Actually I saw someone make this mistake in print just the other day, and I couldn't get it out of my head, so here we are. Enjoy.

With a D – as a noun, it's a barrier to be overcome – as a verb, it's to leap over that barrier.

With a T – to move at great speed.

Ellipse & Ellipsis

 -se – an oval.
-sis – an omission.

Not actually homophones, and I wonder how often they'd be used incorrectly in writing. But I sure hear people mix them up in conversation, just like Climactic/Climatic.

Parity & Parody

 -ity – a state of fairness, equality.
-ody – a humorously exaggerated imitation.

Farro & Pharaoh

Farro – Ancient European grain.
Pharaoh – Ancient Egyptian ruler.

Climactic & Climatic

With a C in the middle – relating to the word "climax." 

Without a C in the middle – relating to the word "climate." 

These two aren't even homophones, but I see them mixed up all the time! Hope this helps.

Succeed & Secede

 This goes out to all the red hats out there who need to learn:

1. how to spell secede.

2. what all this talk of secession really makes you look like.

3. you're not welcome on this blog. These aren't even homophones, dimwits. 

Defuse & Diffuse

With an E – (v.) literally, to remove a fuse. Metaphorically, to make a situation less dangerous.

With an I and two Fs – (v.) to scatter or spread thinly.
(By the way, the adjective form of Diffuse has essentially the same meaning as the verb, but is pronounced with a hard S sound at the end, rather than the Z sound used here. Homographs!) :)

Decent, Descent, Dissent

I thought this might be a good one for today since Tuesday is election day here in the US. Two homophones, and a third word thrown in for good measure. While "decent" isn't pronounced the same as the other two, it is easily confused on the page. So I thought it was a good idea to include it here.

Decent (DEE-sent) – good, kind, caring
Descent (di-SENT) – moving downward
Dissent (di-SENT) – protest

Bow

Minute

Refuse

Sewer

Read

Moped

Wind

Dove

Axes

Tear

Polish