Precede & Proceed

Precede – take place ahead of something/someone else.
Proceed – advance, move forward.
First you wait for everyone who precedes you in line, then you proceed.

Their, There, They're

OK, I'm finally tackling one of the dreaded apostrophe homophones. Took two years to build up the courage... and think of appropriate illustrations. And I'm still not 100% sure I nailed it. Leave a comment, I really want to know what you think of this one.
I figure a tandem bike implies dual ownership – Their bike, rather than his or hers – even if they aren't pictured. (Besides, the fewer times I show them, the fewer times I can be accused of implying that They're doing something in that panel.)
The next one seems pretty self-explanatory to me. The rider is pointing to the bike – There it is.
Finally, They're riding it. Yes, they are.
I dunno. Works for me. What about you?

"Pique" amendment

A couple weeks ago I made the egregious error of omitting "pique" from Peak & Peek. Consider this little striptease my apology. I hope it piques your interest... in grammar!

Might & Mite

Might can be a noun referring to strength, but can also be an auxiliary verb expressing possibility. The guy on the left is showing his might. The guy on the right might, but might not; he's still deciding.
A mite is a tiny little arachnid, but can also generally refer to anything tiny.
"Since many mites are parasitic, it might be wise to not doubt their might."

Hay & Hey

Next time your teacher/parent/parole officer tells you, "Hey is for horses," you send 'em a link to this site and explain that there is a clear and accepted spelling difference between the two. :)

Peak & Peek

If I could take a peek at the peak of my career, I wonder if I would be looking into the past or the future...

Update: Please accept my humble apologies for forgetting to include "pique." Let's fix that mistake right here.

Leak & Leek

With an A – undesirable drip.
Double E – desirable vegetable.

Tare & Tear

-are – weight of an empty container.
-ear – rip.

Way, Weigh, Whey

As in, "There's more than one way to weigh whey."

Thyme & Time

Now I just need homophones for parsley, sage, and rosemary. And Garfunkel.

Flea & Flee

-ea – parasitic insect.
-ee – run away!
As in, "Run away from the parasitic insect!"

Tear & Tier

I always cry at weddings... from boredom.

Marten & Martin

With an E – small carnivorous mammal, a member of the weasel family.
With an I – small insectivorous bird, a member of the swallow family.

Whine & Wine

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Catch up & Ketchup

Don't get me started on "catsup."

Bundt & Bunt

With a D – ring-shaped cake with ridges that make it easy to slice, but a pain in the ass to draw.
Without a D – gently hit a pitched baseball short and into the ground.

guest post – Madder & Matter

We've discussed the lazy American T before, and how it creates homophones on this side of the pond that would never be considered homophones in the old world. Since I have as much respect for UK English as I do US, it's a subset of homophones I don't plan to explore fully here at HW. Heard one, heard 'em all, as far as I'm concerned.
But...
I am a sucker for a kid's blossoming interest in literacy. And illustration. So when my son insisted I should illustrate Madder and Matter, then decided he could do a better job of it himself, I was happy to let him.
As guest posts go here at HW, this is the first time I haven't even modified the guest's image. I couldn't think of a concise way to fit it neatly into my style rules, and my boy wouldn't let me think about it for a few more weeks. So I present it to you as he explained it to me. On the left: a mad dude and an even madder dude. On the right, someone asking those two dudes "what's the matter?" – and also a drawing of water in its three states of matter. :)
Thanks for the help this week, Harrison!

shameless self-promotion

Sorry to bug y'all like this, but the Kickstarter campaign for my comic book series (with a homophone title, no less) Woodstalk: 3 Days of Peace, Music, and Zombies could use your help in the next, oh, 36 hours or so. If you're feeling generous, any little bit helps.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bruceworden/woodstalk-issue-3
Thanks,
Bruce

Whirled, Whorled, World

Whirled – (v.) spun around in circles, past tense of Whirl.
Whorled – (adj.) describes a circular or spiral pattern, especially in nature.
World – (n.) something we seem singularly focused on using up and destroying, despite the fact that we have nowhere else to go.

Rain, Reign, Rein

ai – "not enough sense to come in out of the–"
eig – what Roger Daltrey wanted Love to do o'er him. This is indicative of ruling or being in control.
ei – this one refers to the little straps used to control a horse while riding it.
The fact that both of the second definitions refer to being in control of something has led to confusion about which spelling to use in the phrases "free rein," "full rein," and "rein in." These phrases describe the amount of control a person has over a situation. But they don't describe that control directly; they describe the application of that control. They speak to the person applying the control, not the person receiving it. It's not that you receive the ability to reign over a situation, it's that you are using figurative reins to oversee the amount of control a person has. "Rein" is the correct spelling for each of those phrases, even if I've done a terrible job explaining it.