Homophones: Hold the

Homophone!
Fourth Grade Writing

by Rhondra Lewis July 22, 2015

Want your students to/too/two use the right/write words when/win writing? This lesson will teach them about
homophones and the different ways/weighs they are used.

Learning Objectives

Students will correctly use frequently confused homophones.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Hold the Homophone packet homophones

Attachments

Hold the Homophone (PDF)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Review homophones by watching a short video if necessary.

Write to/too/two, their/they're/there, and ate/eight on the board. Have students take a few minutes to
look at these sets of words and identify any patterns that they see.
Tell students that they are going to be looking at words that sound the same but have different
meanings.
Advise students that these words are called homophones.
If students are keeping a writing journal, this would be a good word to add to it with the examples from
above.
Have students create a class list of known homophones and their meanings.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (5 minutes)

Remind students that there are many words in the English language that sound the same but have
different meanings.
Give examples of homophones that students did not place on the class list.
See if students know the meanings of the words you listed.
Tell students that today they are going to learn new homophones and practice using them correctly in
sentences.

Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Have the class get into pairs or small groups.

Use the first few pages from the Hold the Homophone packet on the interactive whiteboard to guide
students through identifying the correct use of each word.
Answer students' questions as they work through each worksheet.
You may have to work the first few questions on each to get them started.
When they are done, allow for a few minutes for questions and answers.

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

Independent working time (20 minutes)

Pass out Whose vs. Who's, Write or Right, Homophones: To, Too or Two, and Homophones: "Ee" and "Ea"
from the packet.
Advise students that they are now going to work alone to correctly use commonly seen homophones.
Have students to raise their hands if they get stuck or need assistance.

Differentiation

Enrichment: Advanced students could provide illustrations for each homophone.

Support: Students who need support could be given a list of commonly used homophones and their
meanings to reference while completing the assignment.

Technology Integration

Use the interactive whiteboard to work through the problems and to have students identify the correct
answers.

Assessment (15 minutes)

Give students a copy of Homophone Story: Monster Grammar (parts 1-5) from the Hold the Homophone
packet.
Have them read through the story and circle the correct homophones as they read through the story.
Make sure that students understand that they need to circle the correct word.
Review the correct answers to the Homophone Story if time permits.

Review and closing (5 minutes)

Recap by having students give you the definition of the word homophone.
Have students identify homophones that they are still confused about.
Have them brainstorm tricks that will help them understand their meaning.
Answer any questions that students may still have.

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

 Hold the
Homophone...
Get a handle on the most commonly misused/misspelled homophones with
this helpful grammar set.
Table of Contents
Their There and They're
By, Buy or Bye?
You're and Your
Its and It's
Whose vs. Who's
Write or Right
Homophones: To, Too or Two
Homophones: "Ee" and "Ea"
Homophone Story
 Their There They’re
Homophones sound the same, but have different meanings.

Their - Possessive, belonging to them

There - An adverb, a location
They’re - A contraction of they and are

Write THEIR, THERE or THEY’RE in the spaces below.

1. “___________ up first,” I told the team. Everyone ran out to ___________

places on the field. I walked to the mound. It was my first time pitching.

2. The air was perfectly still. ___________ wasn’t the slightest breeze. I wound up,
then gave the pitch all I had. “Ball!” the umpire called.

3. ___________ were still three more balls to go. I took a deep breath, and
concentrated.

4. From the stands I heard chanting, “___________ gonna lose! We’re gonna win!
___________ gonna lose! We’re gonna win!”

5. I tuned out the chanting, and thought only of the baseball in my hand, and the
pitcher’s glove. This one would be a strike, I thought to myself. ___________ wasn’t
going to be another ball.

6. I looked at the opposite team leaning against the chain link fence. ___________
faces were tense with determination. I threw. “Ball!” called the umpire.

7. For a moment I closed my eyes. Then I wound up for my third pitch. I threw
hard and fast. With a loud crack, the bat hit the ball, which flew toward me.
____________ wasn’t a moment to think. I lifted my glove and caught the ball.

8. “Out!” yelled the umpire. I turned to my team, and saw smiles on _____________
faces. Only two more outs to go.

Answers: 1. they’re their 2. there 3. there 4. they’re they’re 5. there 6. their 7. there 8. their

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 By Buy Bye
Homophones are words that sound
the same, but have different meanings.

By - Close to
Buy -To purchase
Bye- Short for goodbye

Write BY, BUY or BYE in the spaces below

1. Tomorrow was the first day of fourth grade, and my mom was taking my brother and

me shopping for new clothes. She said we could each ____________ two new outfits

and two pairs of shoes.

2. We left my dad reading the newspaper. “_____________, Dad!” He waved to us as

we walked _______________ him and out the door.

3. In the first store, I found a cute pair of jeans and a red shirt with hearts on it that

I wanted to _____________. But as I walked _____________ rows and rows of

clothes I couldn’t make up my mind. The sales woman helped us by pulling out clothes in

my size and putting them __________________ the dressing room.

4. My brother was a much faster shopper. He just passed ___________ pairs of

shoes and picked up some green sneakers with red stripes. “These are the ones I want

to _______________,” he told my mom.

5. The sales woman packed up everything into bags. “_____________! Have a great

time at school,” she said cheerfully.

Answers: 1. buy 2. bye, by 3. buy, by, by 4. by, buy 5. bye

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 You‛re Your
Homophones are words that sound
the same, but have different meanings.

You‛re - A contraction of you and are

Your - Possessive, belonging to you

Write YOU‛RE or YOUR in the spaces below

1. School was out for summer. Finally! “Here‛s _______________ backpack,” I

said to my best friend, Isabelle. “_______________ not going to have much use for

it for three months, though!”

2. Then Isabelle told me. She was going to Italy with her family for the summer.

”But _______________ my best friend!” I told her. “I can‛t spend the whole

summer without _______________ company!”

3. “_______________ going to miss me,” she said. “But not as much as I‛m going to

miss you!” Isabelle hugged me and walked away.

4. I went home, suddenly feeling sad about the upcoming summer. Across the street,

a new family had just moved in. I saw a girl sitting on her porch swing. She looked so

lonely that I walked over. ” _______________ looking awfully sad,” I said.

5. “I just moved here, and I had to leave my best friend,” she said mournfully.

“_______________ missing _______________ friend too?” I asked. “The same

thing is happening to me!” I smiled. Maybe the summer wouldn‛t be so bad after all.

5. you‛re your 4. you‛re 3. you‛re 2. you‛re your Answers: 1. your you‛re

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 It’s Its
Homophones are words that sound
the same, but have different meanings.

It’s- A contraction of it and is

Its - Possessive, belonging to it

Write IT’S or ITS in the spaces below

1. After years of getting hand-me-downs from my big brother, I finally got a brand

new bike of my own. ________ chrome handle bars shined in the sun, and there was

not a scratch on ________ light blue frame.

2. “Thank you!” I said to my father. “________ the coolest bike I’ve ever seen!”

3. I got ready for my first ride. ________ seat was a little high and needed to be

adjusted, and ________ tires needed a little air. Then I was ready to go!

4. My big brother stopped me, “________ pretty sweet,” he said. “Let me take it for

a spin,” he demanded.

5. “No, ________ mine. I get to ride it first.” I was not risking my new bike to his

crazy antics. He had once crashed his bike into a tree and was STILL paying for it out

of his weekly allowance. Then I relented, “________ your turn next.”

6. I will always remember that first ride, speeding down the trail on my new bike.

________ one of my favorite memories.

Answers: 1. its its 2. it’s 3. its its 4. it’s 5. it’s it’s 6. it’s

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 Whose Who’s
Homophones are words that sound
the same, but have different meanings.

Whose - Possessive, belonging to who?

Who’s- A contraction of who and is

Write WHOSE or WHO’S in the spaces below

1. My two best friends and I were walking home from school when we heard a rustling

noise in the bushes. We peeked in and saw a small brown dog. “___________ dog

could he be?” asked John. We looked up and down the street, and saw an older man.

2. “Do you know ___________ dog this is?” I asked him, but the man shook his head no.

3. The little dog was cute, but a little scruffy. He looked up at us with frightened eyes.

“___________ going to take care of you, little guy?” I asked, petting him gently.

4. “We’ll take turns taking care of him until we find its owner,” Tom said. “I’ll keep him

tonight. ___________ going to take him on Saturday?”

5. “I will!” said Michael. So it was settled. But we still had to find out ___________

puppy it was. We made “Found Dog” posters, and tacked them up around the neighborhood.

6. Two days later a woman and a little girl came to our house. “This is Rebecca, the

girl ___________ dog ran away,” said the woman. “___________ responsible for

putting up the posters? I’d like to give them a reward.”

7. The little girl cradled the wiggly puppy in her arms, her face beaming with joy.

“Thank you, but we don’t need a reward,” I said. “I don’t know ___________ happier,

Rebecca or the puppy!”

7. who’s 6. whose, who’s 5. whose 4. who’s 3. who’s 2. whose Answers: 1. whose

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 Write Right
Homophones are words that sound
the same, but have different meanings.

Write - To mark with a pen or pencil

Right- Correct, the opposite of wrong OR the opposite of left

Write WRITE or RIGHT in the spaces below

1. “The assessment tests are today,” announced Teacher John. “You will all

_______________ for one hour, on any topic of your choosing. Please

_______________ your name and the date on the upper _______________

corner of your paper.”

2. “I like the math tests much more,” grumbled Kevin. “They’re simple. You’re

either _______________ or you’re wrong.”

3. “I think it’s way more fun to _______________ down your ideas,” said Jilly.

“I like being creative. Did you know that many famous creative people are left

handed?”

4. “You’re _______________, “ said Teacher John. “H.G. Wells, Michelangelo,

Leonardo da Vinci, and Lewis Carroll were all left handed.”

5. “Yeah, so were the Boston Strangler and Jack-the-Ripper,” whispered Kevin.

“Personally, I’m glad I _______________ with my _______________ hand.”

6. “Jilly, are you left or ______________ handed?” asked Teacher John.

7. “Well, I _______________ with my left hand, but I eat with my

_______________ hand,” answered Jilly. “So I guess I’m a little bit of both!”

7. write, right 6. right 5. write, right 4. right 3. write 2. right Answers: 1. write, write, right

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 To, Too or Two
Fill in each sentence with the correct word.
to: a function word too: also two: a number

1. I am going read a book.

2. Donald ran miles.

3. Is Ann coming ?

4. She got

5. My brother likes
wrong on the test.

play baseball.
2
6. I was at the park times today.

7. Those clothes are expensive.

8. Cindy got strikes in bowling.

9. I need write pages for school.

10. I need you help me it’s heavy!

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NAME:_______________________________________ DATE:________________________

HOMOPHONES (EE & EA)

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Choose
the correct word from the box on the right and place it in the correct sentence.

1. Lots of fish live in the ____________________. sea

2. I ____________________ lots of fish at the aquarium. see

3. ____________________ me at the playground tomorrow. meat

4. We bought ____________________ at the market. meet

5. The mountain ____________________ is 2,000 feet above sea level. peak

6. ____________________ in the bag to see if your watch is inside. peek

7. That cat will ____________________ food from the garbage. steel

8. The trash can is made of ____________________. steal

9. Sunday is the first day of the ____________________. weak

10. The boy was ____________________ after running around the park. week

11. A big accomplishment is a ____________________. feet

12.Her ____________________ were the same size as mine. feat

13. I ____________________ to know what time the play starts.

kneed
14.I have to ____________________ the dough for two minutes.
need
15.The doctor diagnosed him with being knock-____________________. knead
 Homophones are words that sound the same,
but have different meanings.
Circle the correct homophones in the story below.

The Boy and The Horrible Humongous Monsters - Part 1

Crouched behind a moss-covered boulder/bolder at the edge of the forest, the

boy sat still, listening silently. It was a cold morning/mourning, and a dense missed/

mist clouded his vision. Suddenly, with a loud crash, a grizzly bear/bare galloped

fearfully out of the fog and disappeared into the woods. The boy heard/herd the

bear move frantically through/threw the forest. What was the bear running from?

Then the boy saw it. A hideous creature. Its humongous build/billed was covered

with filthy, matted hair/hare. It had fore/four eyes, colored a pail/pale, vivid blue/

blew that shone brightly through the mist. The boy froze by/bye/buy the boulder.

He didn‛t want to incite/insight the monster. It was so close/clothes he could smell

its rank scent. The thing sniffed the air. It caught/cot the cent/scent/sent of a

human. Silence. Then the bushes rustled, and the boy watched a deer/dear appear.

The young doe/dough moved daintily down the bank towards the creek/creak. The

huge creature again sniffed the air/err, then turned and followed the deer.

The boy took a deep breath. For the time being he was in know/no danger.

caught, scent, deer, doe,creek, air, no

Answers: boulder, morning, mist, bear, heard, through, build, hair, four, pale, blue, by, incite, close,

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 Homophones are words that sound the same,
but have different meanings.
Circle the correct homophones in the story below.

The Boy and The Horrible Humongous Monsters - Part 2

The boy thought he was safe, but he was mistaken. While hiding in the forest,

he had seen the hideous monster follow a dear/deer, but it had only been/bin

curious. The boy knew/new that the creature prayed/preyed only on humans. It

would/wood soon be after him. He must/mussed get away. Now!

Should he run in the direction he had come from, or/oar/ore into the forest?

The forest. He ran past/passed the boulder and into the trees. Branches littered

the ground. He picked up a peace/piece of wood and threw/through it out of

the way. A cold rain/rein begin to fall from the sky, and the trees in the forest

thickened like a maize/maze. The boy was confused. He ran around a wide, knotty/

naughty pine tree then stopped suddenly. The monster was write/right in front of him!

He could see/sea it much more clearly now. It was the sighs/size of Bigfoot

and had huge paws/pause with long, razor-sharp claws/clause. Two rose/rows of

sharp tusks protruded from its ugly read/red mouth like a mutant wild boar/bore.

The boy turned and ran.

see, size, paws, claws, rows, red, boar

Answers: deer, been, knew, preyed, would, must, or, past, piece, threw, rain, maze, knotty, right,

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 Homophones are words that sound the same,
but have different meanings.
Circle the correct homophones in the story below.

The Boy and The Horrible Humongous Monsters - Part 3

The boy was running as if a monster was chasing him, which/witch was exactly

what was happening! His only chance was to flea/flee. He had earned a tracking

badge in the Boy Scouts, so he made/maid little noise as he moved threw/through

the forest. From behind him he heard/herd the sound of heavy steps and a low moan

like a horse/hoarse growl. Without a pause/paws they boy picked up his pace.

He was getting tired, but he could knot/not stop to rest/wrest. The sun‛s

rays/raise/raze disappeared, and the forest was getting darker. Then he saw

a ring/wring of tall trees. In the center, on a nest of sticks and grass, a monster

sat cradling a baby in her hairy arms. The baby was bald/balled and all/awl covered

with warts. “You are my dear/deer monstrous beast,” the mother monster crooned

sweetly. “I/eye will love you all of my daze/days.”

The boy couldn‛t believe what he had scene/seen. He wasn‛t sure if it was real/

reel. Could an atrocious, man-eating monster really be so/sew/sow loving? He knew

he should quickly move on, but something made him sit still and watch.

seen, real, so
Answers:

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 Homophones are words that sound the same,
but have different meanings.
Circle the correct homophones in the story below.

The Boy and The Horrible Humongous Monsters - Part 4

The boy hunched behind a tree, watching the hideous monster care lovingly for

her wart-covered baby. The baby was smaller than a new/knew born gorilla/guerrilla

and had a squat, smashed knows/nose. Its tail/tale glistened with red scales. The

mother swayed/suede gently, her pale/pail eyes glowing with affection as she sang

softly to her infant. The baby held the mother’s gnarled hairy claw in his tiny hand.

It snuggled close/clothes, sighed, and closed its eyes.

With a rustle of leaves, a hulking mail/male monster entered into the circle of

trees. Gently he handed the mother monster an apple and she took a byte/bite. She

handed the apple back, and offered some/sum to/too the male. But weight/wait!

Didn’t these beasts feed only on the meat/meet of humans?

Suddenly, with a loud crash, three men burst into the clearing. Hatred blazed on

their/there faces. Two/to men grasped spiked wooden clubs, and one held a long, sharp

soared/sword. The boy knew/new one/won thing. He would/wood not let these men

slay/sleigh the monsters. He leapt to his feet/feat, and ran into the clearing.

sword, knew one, would, slay, feet

Answers: new, gorilla, nose, tail, swayed, pale, close, male, bite, some, to, wait, meat, their, two,

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 Homophones are words that sound the same,
but have different meanings.
Circle the correct homophones in the story below.

The Boy and The Horrible Humongous Monsters - Part 5

The boy stood defiantly between the family of monsters and the trio of angry

men. Though hideous, he now knew/new the monsters were gentle beasts.

“Don’t meddle/medal with us!” The boy cried courageously. “Shoo/Shoe! Get out

of here/hear!” He tried to be brave, but his hole/whole body was shaking with fear.

“Learn your lessen/lesson before you get hurt! Leave now, or I’ll bury/berry you!”

Behind the boy, the two monster parents stood up to their/there full

humongous height and lifted razor-sharp claws/clause above their heads. They took

a step forward and bared two/to rows of knife-like tusks.

The boy could not believe his site/sight. The men were retreating, backing up

with fear in their eyes. They were running away/aweigh! He had one/won!

He turned to look at the family of monsters, but only the nest remained. They

had disappeared deeper in the forest, where/wear they would be safe. Suddenly the

boy wished he was home, sitting by the fire with a cup of tee/tea. He turned to the trail

that lead/led out of the forest. His adventure was over. It was time/thyme to go home.

time
Answers: knew, meddle, shoo, here, whole, lesson, bury, their two, sight, away, won, where, tea, led,

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