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Homophones: Practice Questions with Answers

11 practice questions on Homophones, with answers; most also have an explanation or a worked solution. Try each one before you open its answer.

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1. Q.1

   Choose the correct word: "Honesty is a core ___ that the school tries to instil in its students." (A) principal (B) principle

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   Answer: (B) principle

   Solution:

   1. The sentence needs a word meaning "a fundamental rule or belief", which is "principle" — not "principal" (the head of a school).

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2. Q.2

   Choose the correct word: "The company announced ___ quarterly results yesterday." (A) its (B) it’s

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   Answer: (A) its

   Solution:

   1. Expanding "it’s" gives "the company announced it is quarterly results," which doesn’t make sense.
   2. "Its" (possessive, belonging to the company) is correct.

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3. Q.3

   Choose the correct word: "The new policy will ___ all employees starting next month." (A) affect (B) effect

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   Answer: (A) affect

   Solution:

   1. The sentence needs a verb here (to influence), so "affect" is correct, not the noun "effect".

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4. Q.4

   Choose the correct word: "The students left ___ bags in the classroom." (A) their (B) there (C) they’re

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   Answer: (A) their

   Solution:

   1. The bags belong to the students, so the possessive "their" is correct — not the place word "there" or the contraction "they’re".

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5. Q.5

   Choose the correct word: "The car remained ___ for almost an hour due to the traffic jam." (A) stationary (B) stationery

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   Answer: (A) stationary

   Solution:

   1. The sentence needs a word meaning "not moving", which is "stationary" — not "stationery" (writing materials).

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6. Q.6

   Choose the correct word: "___ going to rain later today." (A) Its (B) It’s

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   Answer: (B) It’s

   Solution:

   1. Expanding "it’s" gives "It is going to rain later today," which makes sense.

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7. Q.7

   Choose the correct word: "Please put the book over ___." (A) their (B) there (C) they’re

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   Answer: (B) there

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8. Q.8

   Choose the correct word: "The medicine had an immediate ___ on his headache." (A) affect (B) effect

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   Answer: (B) effect

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9. Q.9

   Choose the correct word: "He bought some ___ from the shop to write his letters." (A) stationary (B) stationery

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   Answer: (B) stationery

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10. Q.10

    Choose the correct word: "The school ___ gave a speech at the morning assembly." (A) principal (B) principle

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    Answer: (A) principal

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11. Q.11

    Choose the correct word: "___ not sure if the meeting has been rescheduled." (A) Their (B) There (C) They’re

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    Answer: (C) They’re

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