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Some English words are spelled identically but said completely differently depending on their meaning. Others just shift which syllable gets the stress. Both are famous pronunciation traps — hear every one below, and use Practice Mode to test yourself.
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Same spelling, different pronunciation, different meaning.
lead
LEED
to guide or go in front of
“She will lead the team.”
LED
a soft, heavy grey metal
“The pipe was made of lead.”
tear
TEER
a drop of water from the eye
“A tear rolled down her cheek.”
TAIR
to rip
“Don't tear the paper.”
wind
WIND
moving air
“The wind is strong today.”
WYND
to turn or coil
“Wind the clock before bed.”
bow
BOH
a weapon, or a ribbon knot
“She tied a bow in her hair.”
BOW (rhymes with cow)
to bend forward at the waist
“The actors took a bow.”
bass
BASE
low musical tone or instrument
“He plays bass guitar.”
BASS (rhymes with class)
a type of fish
“We caught a bass this morning.”
close
KLOHS
nearby
“The store is close to my house.”
KLOHZ
to shut
“Please close the door.”
live
LIV
to be alive, to reside
“They live in Boston.”
LYVE
happening now, not recorded
“It was a live broadcast.”
minute
MIN-it
60 seconds
“Wait one minute.”
my-NOOT
extremely small
“The details were minute.”
object
OB-jekt
a thing
“What is that object?”
ub-JEKT
to protest or disagree
“I object to this plan.”
content
KON-tent
what's inside something
“Check the content of the box.”
kun-TENT
satisfied
“She felt content with her work.”
desert
DEZ-ert
a dry, sandy area
“Camels live in the desert.”
dih-ZERT
to abandon
“Soldiers must not desert their post.”
invalid
IN-vuh-lid
a person who is ill or disabled
“He cared for the invalid.”
in-VAL-id
not valid or correct
“That ticket is invalid.”
moderate
MOD-er-it
not extreme, average
“The weather was moderate.”
MOD-er-ayt
to preside over a debate
“She will moderate the panel.”
separate
SEP-rit
apart, not joined
“Keep the two piles separate.”
SEP-uh-rayt
to divide or split up
“Please separate the colors.”
present
PREZ-ent
a gift, or now
“She opened her present.”
prih-ZENT
to give or show formally
“He will present the award.”
produce
PROH-doos
fruits and vegetables
“The produce looked fresh.”
pruh-DOOS
to make or create
“The factory will produce more.”
project
PROJ-ekt
a planned piece of work
“We finished the project.”
pruh-JEKT
to forecast, or throw forward
“Sales project to rise.”
permit
PER-mit
an official license
“You need a parking permit.”
per-MIT
to allow
“They permit photos here.”
contract
KON-trakt
a formal agreement
“Sign the contract here.”
kun-TRAKT
to shrink, or catch an illness
“Metal will contract in the cold.”
conduct
KON-dukt
behavior
“His conduct was excellent.”
kun-DUKT
to lead or carry out
“She will conduct the orchestra.”
subject
SUB-jekt
a topic
“Math is my favorite subject.”
sub-JEKT
to expose someone to something
“Don't subject him to that.”
suspect
SUS-pekt
a person thought to have done wrong
“Police questioned the suspect.”
suh-SPEKT
to believe something without proof
“I suspect she is right.”
rebel
REB-el
a person who resists authority
“The rebel fought for change.”
rih-BEL
to resist or fight authority
“Teenagers often rebel.”
refuse
REF-yoos
trash or waste
“Put the refuse in the bin.”
rih-FYOOZ
to decline or say no
“I refuse to give up.”
entrance
EN-trans
a doorway or way in
“Meet me at the entrance.”
en-TRANS
to fill with delight, to enchant
“The music will entrance you.”
attribute
AT-truh-byoot
a quality or feature
“Kindness is a great attribute.”
uh-TRIB-yoot
to credit something to a cause
“They attribute it to luck.”
incense
IN-sens
fragrant smoke from burning material
“The incense smelled sweet.”
in-SENS
to make very angry
“The delay will incense them.”
console
KON-sohl
a control panel or gaming device
“He bought a new console.”
kun-SOHL
to comfort someone
“She tried to console her friend.”
compound
KOM-pownd
a mixture, or an enclosed area
“The chemical is a compound.”
kum-POWND
to make worse, or combine
“Stress will compound the issue.”
estimate
ES-tuh-mit
a rough calculation or guess
“Give me an estimate.”
ES-tuh-mayt
to calculate roughly
“Please estimate the cost.”
graduate
GRAJ-oo-it
someone who has completed a course of study
“She is a college graduate.”
GRAJ-oo-ayt
to complete a course of study
“He will graduate in May.”
wound
WOOND
an injury
“The wound healed slowly.”
WOWND
past tense of "wind" (to coil)
“She wound the string tightly.”
sow
SOH
to plant seeds
“Farmers sow seeds in spring.”
SOW (rhymes with cow)
a female pig
“The sow had six piglets.”
dove
DUV
a bird, symbol of peace
“A white dove flew by.”
DOHV
past tense of "dive"
“She dove into the pool.”
row
ROH
a line of things, or to paddle a boat
“We sat in the front row.”
ROW (rhymes with cow)
a noisy argument
“They had a big row.”
does
DUZ
present tense of "do"
“She does her homework.”
DOHZ
plural of "doe" (female deer)
“The does grazed nearby.”
read
REED
present tense — to look at and understand text
“I read every day.”
RED
past tense of "read"
“I read that book last year.”
buffet
buh-FAY
a meal set out for self-service
“We ate at the buffet.”
BUF-it
to strike repeatedly
“Winds buffet the coast.”
resume
rih-ZOOM
to continue after a pause
“We will resume after lunch.”
REZ-oo-may
a summary of work history
“Send me your resume.”
house
HOWSS
a building where people live
“They bought a new house.”
HOWZ
to provide shelter for
“The shelter can house 50 people.”
Same spelling — stress the FIRST syllable for the noun, the SECOND for the verb: “a REC-ord” vs “to re-CORD”.
record
REK-ord
information kept in writing
“Keep a record of expenses.”
rih-CORD
to store sound or data
“Please record the meeting.”
import
IM-port
a good brought in from abroad
“The car is an import.”
im-PORT
to bring in from abroad
“They import coffee beans.”
export
EK-sport
a good sent abroad
“Oil is a major export.”
ek-SPORT
to send goods abroad
“They export wheat.”
increase
IN-kreess
a rise in amount
“There was a price increase.”
in-KREESS
to become or make greater
“Prices will increase.”
decrease
DEE-kreess
a reduction in amount
“There was a slight decrease.”
dee-KREESS
to become or make smaller
“Sales will decrease.”
insult
IN-sult
a rude remark
“That was a real insult.”
in-SULT
to speak rudely to
“Don't insult your teacher.”
insert
IN-sert
a page placed inside something
“There was an insert in the magazine.”
in-SERT
to put something inside
“Insert the key here.”
extract
EK-strakt
a passage taken from a text
“Read this extract.”
ek-STRAKT
to remove or take out
“The dentist will extract the tooth.”
contrast
KON-trast
a clear difference
“There is a contrast between them.”
kun-TRAST
to show a clear difference
“Contrast the two paintings.”
convert
KON-vert
a person who changed beliefs
“She is a recent convert.”
kun-VERT
to change into another form
“Convert miles to kilometers.”
convict
KON-vikt
a person found guilty of a crime
“The convict was released.”
kun-VIKT
to find guilty in court
“The jury will convict him.”
digest
DY-jest
a short summary
“Read the news digest.”
dy-JEST
to break down food in the body
“It takes time to digest a meal.”
discount
DIS-kownt
a price reduction
“We got a discount.”
dis-KOWNT
to disregard as unlikely
“Don't discount that idea.”
discharge
DIS-charj
an official release
“He got an honorable discharge.”
dis-CHARJ
to release or let go
“The hospital will discharge her today.”
progress
PROG-ress
forward movement or improvement
“We're making progress.”
pruh-GRESS
to move forward or improve
“The project will progress quickly.”
protest
PROH-test
a public objection
“They held a protest.”
pruh-TEST
to object publicly
“They protest the new law.”
transport
TRANS-port
a means of moving people/goods
“Public transport is cheap.”
trans-PORT
to move from one place to another
“Trucks transport the goods.”
transfer
TRANS-fer
a move from one place to another
“The transfer took an hour.”
trans-FER
to move something/someone
“Please transfer the funds.”
survey
SER-vay
a set of questions to gather data
“Please fill out the survey.”
ser-VAY
to examine or ask a group of people
“They survey customers monthly.”
addict
AD-ikt
a person dependent on something
“He is a coffee addict.”
uh-DIKT
to make dependent on something
“Games can addict young players.”
combine
KOM-byn
a large farm machine
“The combine harvested the wheat.”
kum-BYN
to join together
“Combine the flour and sugar.”
compact
KOM-pakt
a small car, or an agreement
“She drives a compact.”
kum-PAKT
to press tightly together
“The machine will compact the soil.”
conflict
KON-flikt
a serious disagreement
“The conflict lasted years.”
kun-FLIKT
to be at odds with
“Their views conflict sharply.”
contest
KON-test
a competition
“She won the contest.”
kun-TEST
to formally challenge
“They will contest the results.”
defect
DEE-fekt
a flaw or fault
“The car has a defect.”
dih-FEKT
to abandon one side for another
“The spy chose to defect.”
object
OB-jekt
a thing
“What is that object?”
ub-JEKT
to protest or disagree
“I object to this plan.”
present
PREZ-ent
a gift, or now
“She opened her present.”
prih-ZENT
to give or show formally
“He will present the award.”
produce
PROH-doos
fruits and vegetables
“The produce looked fresh.”
pruh-DOOS
to make or create
“The factory will produce more.”
project
PROJ-ekt
a planned piece of work
“We finished the project.”
pruh-JEKT
to forecast, or throw forward
“Sales project to rise.”
permit
PER-mit
an official license
“You need a parking permit.”
per-MIT
to allow
“They permit photos here.”
contract
KON-trakt
a formal agreement
“Sign the contract here.”
kun-TRAKT
to shrink, or catch an illness
“Metal will contract in the cold.”
conduct
KON-dukt
behavior
“His conduct was excellent.”
kun-DUKT
to lead or carry out
“She will conduct the orchestra.”
subject
SUB-jekt
a topic
“Math is my favorite subject.”
sub-JEKT
to expose someone to something
“Don't subject him to that.”
suspect
SUS-pekt
a person thought to have done wrong
“Police questioned the suspect.”
suh-SPEKT
to believe something without proof
“I suspect she is right.”
rebel
REB-el
a person who resists authority
“The rebel fought for change.”
rih-BEL
to resist or fight authority
“Teenagers often rebel.”
refuse
REF-yoos
trash or waste
“Put the refuse in the bin.”
rih-FYOOZ
to decline or say no
“I refuse to give up.”