Common Homophones for Year 6 (KS2)

Homophones are one of the friendliest topics to revise, because once your child knows the trick for each pair, the spellings tend to stick. This guide explains what homophones are, works through the tricky pairs that catch Year 6 pupils out, and shares simple memory tricks plus a quick practice activity.

What are homophones?

A homophone is a word that sounds exactly the same as another word but is spelt differently and means something different. The name comes from two Greek word parts: homo, meaning "same", and phone, meaning "sound".

Because the words sound identical out loud, your ear cannot tell them apart, so the only way to choose the right one is to think about the meaning. For example, you can see the sea, and a hare is not the same as hair.

Common Year 6 homophones and their meanings

Many homophones appear again and again in writing, so they are worth knowing by heart. Here are common pairs your Year 6 child will meet.

A simple habit helps: before writing one of these, picture its meaning.

Tricky pairs: their/there/they're, your/you're, to/two/too

A few small words cause more trouble than any others, because they crop up so often.

their / there / they're all sound the same, but each does a different job.

• their shows belonging: The children packed their bags.
• there is about a place, or starts a sentence: The park is over there. / There is a dog outside.
• they're is short for they are: They're going to win.

The quick test: if you can say they are, choose they're. If something belongs to someone, choose their. Otherwise it is usually there.

your / you're works the same way.

• your shows belonging: Is this your coat?
• you're is short for you are: You're very kind.

If you can say you are, use you're. The apostrophe stands in for the missing letter, which our guide to apostrophes at KS2 explains in full.

to / two / too is a group of three.

• two is the number 2: I have two sisters.
• too means "as well" or "more than enough": Can I come too? / It is too hot.
• to covers everything else, such as direction or before a verb: We walked to school.

A neat trick: too has one extra o, just as it means one too many.

Year 5 and 6 homophones (practise/practice, advise/advice)

The National Curriculum has a spelling list of homophones and near-homophones for Years 5 and 6, and they are a favourite in the SPaG paper. A useful rule covers pairs that change spelling for a noun (a thing) or a verb (an action):

• practise is the verb: We practise spellings every day.
• practice is the noun: Football practice is on Friday.
• advise is the verb: I advise you to revise.
• advice is the noun: She gave me good advice.

Here, advise and advice are the perfect model: advise rhymes with "eyes" and advice rhymes with "ice". Since ice is a thing you could hold, the spelling with c is the noun, and the same pattern fits practise and practice.

Other pairs from the Year 5 and 6 list include:

• aloud (out loud) / allowed (permitted)
• affect (to change something, usually a verb) / effect (the result, usually a noun)
• past (gone by, as in in the past or he walked past) / passed (the past tense of pass, as in she passed the test)
• led (the past tense of lead, meaning guided) / lead (the grey metal, which sounds the same as led)

For more lists like this, see our guide to Year 6 spelling words.

Memory tricks to pick the right spelling

The best way to lock in a homophone is to tie its spelling to its meaning with a little memory hook:

• there / here: there has the word here inside it, and both are about places.
• hear: you hear with your ear, and ear is hiding in hear.
• piece: have a piece of pie, because pie starts the word.
• stationery / stationary: e for envelopes means stationery is paper and pens; a for a car at rest means stationary is standing still.

Making up your own trick is even more powerful, because your child will remember the one they invented. Our guide to spelling strategies for SATs shares more friendly methods for learning words that stick.

How homophones are tested in the KS2 SPaG and spelling papers

In the Year 6 SPaG test, homophones appear in a few ways. Pupils might be asked to:

• choose the correct homophone to complete a sentence,
• spot and fix a sentence where the wrong homophone has been used,
• spell a homophone that is read aloud during the spelling paper.

If the test format is new to you, our overview of what the SPaG test involves explains it simply. Exact test dates and arrangements can change each year, so always confirm the latest details on GOV.UK.

Practice: choose the correct homophone in context

Have a go at choosing the right word for each sentence, thinking about the meaning rather than the sound.

1. Is this (your / you're) pencil case?
2. The twins lost (their / there / they're) hats at the park.
3. We had football (practise / practice) after school.
4. I have (to / two / too) goldfish.
5. Please read the poem (aloud / allowed).

Self-check answers: (1) your (it belongs to you); (2) their (the hats belong to the twins); (3) practice (a thing, a noun); (4) two (the number 2); (5) aloud (out loud).

If your child managed those, they have grasped the big idea: choose by meaning, not by sound. Little and often works best, so practise one tricky pair a week.

How SATS LION helps

SATS LION turns Year 6 SPaG practice into a game, so confusing homophones such as their, there and they're feel more like play than revision. Questions follow the England KS2 curriculum and gently revisit the spellings that often slip. You can explore how it works and see whether a game-first approach suits your child.