Homophones Worksheet 1 | Grammar Activity - Free Printable

Homophones Worksheet 1: Return of the Ninjas!

Solution and Explanation

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Part One: Choose the correct word.

We are given sentences with homophones (words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings). We need to choose the correct word based on context.

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1. "I can't believe this class is one hour / our long," said John.
✔ hour
→ "Hour" refers to a unit of time. "Our" is a possessive pronoun — doesn’t make sense here.
👉 *Correct sentence:* "I can't believe this class is one hour long."

2. "I know, that's a long thyme / time, right?" I replied.
✔ time
→ "Time" means duration; "thyme" is a herb. The context is about length of class.
👉 *"That's a long time, right?"*

3. John is my best friend and I'll never meat / meet a better friend than him.
✔ meet
→ "Meet" means to encounter someone. "Meat" is food — doesn't fit.
👉 *"I'll never meet a better friend..."*

4. Our teacher was giving us a lessen / lesson on homophones.
✔ lesson
→ A "lesson" is a teaching session. "Lessen" means to reduce — not appropriate.
👉 *"a lesson on homophones."*

5. It was still pretty early in the morning / mourning.
✔ morning
→ "Morning" is the time of day. "Mourning" means grieving — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"early in the morning."*

6. That was when those ninjas jumped threw / through the window.
✔ through
→ "Through" means passing from one side to another. "Threw" is past tense of throw — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"jumped through the window."*

7. I was worried because ninjas are masters of the marshal / martial arts.
✔ martial
→ "Martial arts" is a fighting style. "Marshal" is a military rank or someone who organizes.
👉 *"masters of the martial arts."*

8. I could feel their cold stairs / stares on me.
✔ stares
→ "Stares" means intense looks. "Stairs" are steps — doesn’t make sense.
👉 *"their cold stares on me."*

9. "John, they are here to steal / steel our teacher's answer keys," I said.
✔ steal
→ "Steal" means to take without permission. "Steel" is a metal — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"to steal our teacher's answer keys."*

10. John didn't seam / seem that worried.
✔ seem
→ "Seem" means to appear. "Seam" is a line where fabric is joined — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"didn't seem that worried."*

11. I exclaimed, "We can knot / not let that happen, John!"
✔ not
→ "Not" is a negative word. "Knot" is a tied loop — doesn't work grammatically.
👉 *"We can not let that happen."*

12. John said, "I just don't sea / see why we should put ourselves in danger for more homework."
✔ see
→ "See" means to understand or perceive. "Sea" is a body of water — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"I just don't see why..."*

13. I stood up and said, "Because it's the right / write thing to do, John."
✔ right
→ "Right" means correct. "Write" means to compose text — doesn't fit.
👉 *"the right thing to do."*

14. Some of these ninjas were twice my sighs / size so I had to be smart.
✔ size
→ "Size" means physical dimensions. "Sighs" are breaths — doesn’t make sense.
👉 *"twice my size."*

15. I grabbed the answer keys and ran toward the principal's / principle's office.
✔ principal's
→ "Principal" is the school leader. "Principle" is a rule or belief.
👉 *"toward the principal's office."*

16. The ninjas were chasing me so I dropped a banana peal / peel on the ground.
✔ peel
→ "Peel" is the outer skin of a banana. "Peal" is a loud sound (like a bell) — doesn't fit.
👉 *"dropped a banana peel on the ground."*

17. One of the ninjas slipped and fell into the garbage chute / shoot face first.
✔ chute
→ "Chute" is a tube or channel (like a trash chute). "Shoot" is a verb meaning to fire — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"fell into the garbage chute."*

18. I said, "What a waist / waste," as I heard him fall into the dumpster with a crash.
✔ waste
→ "Waste" means something useless or lost. "Waist" is part of the body — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"What a waste."*

19. The ninjas were still chasing me so I lead / led them downstairs.
✔ led
→ Past tense of "lead" (to guide). "Lead" is present tense — incorrect here.
👉 *"I led them downstairs."*

20. I grabbed a handful of tacks / tax from a bulletin board and tossed them on the floor.
✔ tacks
→ "Tacks" are small nails. "Tax" is money paid to government — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"grabbed a handful of tacks."*

21. Then I hid in a supply closet as the ninjas ran passed / past me.
✔ past
→ "Past" means moving by. "Passed" is a verb — needs an object (e.g., "ran past me").
👉 *"ran past me."*

22. I knew / new when they ran over my trap because several ninjas started howling.
✔ knew
→ "Knew" is past tense of "know." "New" means recently made — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"I knew when they ran over my trap."*

23. Those ninjas must have been in a lot of pain / pane because they left the school after that.
✔ pain
→ "Pain" means suffering. "Pane" is a window glass — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"in a lot of pain."*

24. I returned to class with the answer keys and everyone rose / rows and cheered for me.
✔ rose
→ "Rose" is past tense of "rise" (to stand up). "Rows" is plural of row — doesn’t fit.
👉 *"everyone rose and cheered."*

25. Except for John, he was to / too / two mad at me to celebrate.
✔ too
→ "Too" means "also" or "excessively." Here, "too mad" = very angry.
"Two" is number 2; "to" is preposition — both wrong.
👉 *"he was too mad at me to celebrate."*

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✔ Part One Answers Summary:

1. hour
2. time
3. meet
4. lesson
5. morning
6. through
7. martial
8. stares
9. steal
10. seem
11. not
12. see
13. right
14. size
15. principal's
16. peel
17. chute
18. waste
19. led
20. tacks
21. past
22. knew
23. pain
24. rose
25. too

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Part Two: Write two sentences for each of the word pairs. Correctly use each word in a sentence.

#### A. their / there

- Their: The students left their backpacks in the classroom.
- There: There is a book on the table.

> 🔹 *Explanation:*
> - "Their" shows possession.
> - "There" indicates location.

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#### B. than / then

- Than: I am taller than my brother.
- Then: First, we studied, then we went home.

> 🔹 *Explanation:*
> - "Than" is used in comparisons.
> - "Then" shows sequence or time order.

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#### C. which / witch

- Which: Which color do you prefer, red or blue?
- Witch: The old witch flew on her broomstick.

> 🔹 *Explanation:*
> - "Which" is a question word asking for choice.
> - "Witch" is a magical person (often in stories).

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✔ Final Answer Summary:

Part One:
1. hour
2. time
3. meet
4. lesson
5. morning
6. through
7. martial
8. stares
9. steal
10. seem
11. not
12. see
13. right
14. size
15. principal's
16. peel
17. chute
18. waste
19. led
20. tacks
21. past
22. knew
23. pain
24. rose
25. too

Part Two:
A.
- Their: The dogs wagged their tails happily.
- There: There are many books on the shelf.

B.
- Than: She runs faster than I do.
- Then: We ate dinner, then watched a movie.

C.
- Which: Which flavor of ice cream do you like best?
- Witch: The witch cast a spell on the castle.

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This worksheet helps reinforce understanding of homophones — words that sound the same but differ in spelling and meaning — using a fun, imaginative story!