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A '''homophone''' is one of two or more words or [[phrases]] that are pronounced the same way, but differ in spelling, meaning, or both. <ref>http://www.synonym.com/definition/homophone/</ref> An example of homophones would be the words "tide" and "tied". The word is derived from the Greek, meaning "same sound". The word was first used in English in 1843. <ref>http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/homophone</ref>

A '''homophone''' is one of two or more words or [[phrases]] that are pronounced the same way, but differ in spelling, meaning, or both. <ref>http://www.synonym.com/definition/homophone/</ref> An example of homophones would be the words "tide" and "tied". The word is derived from the Greek, meaning "same sound". The word was first used in English in 1843. <ref>http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/homophone</ref> Homophones that are also spelled the same way are called [[homonyms]].

It is fairly easy to distinguish between most homophones in context.  There are, however, many which do cause confusion, due to a combination of identical pronunciation and similar spelling, for example: "principle" and "principal"; "whether" and "weather"; "stationery" and "stationary"; "their", "there" and "they're"; "to", "too" and "two".

It is fairly easy to distinguish between most homophones in context.  There are, however, many which do cause confusion, due to a combination of identical pronunciation and similar spelling, for example: "principle" and "principal"; "whether" and "weather"; "stationery" and "stationary"; "their", "there" and "they're"; "to", "too" and "two".