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4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 8 of 13

Sound-Alikes

Homophones and homographs

What your child practices

Choosing between words that sound alike (there/their/they're, to/too/two, its/it's) and using context to tell which meaning of a word like “bark” or “bow” is meant.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Language 4; Language 5 · homophones and homographs

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently: there, their, they’re.
  2. Test contractions by saying the long form: it’s = it is, they’re = they are.
  3. Homographs are spelled the same with different meanings (bark). Use the sentence to pick the meaning.

Example: “___ going to the park after lunch.” there, their or they’re? Try the long form: “They are going to the park.” That makes sense, so use the contraction. Answer: they’re

Sound-Alikes in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 8 of 13 in 4th grade English Language Arts, after Word Builders and before Paragraph Power.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which sentence uses the right homophone?

    • May I have a peace of cake?
    • Please wait for the green light.
    • The vet checked the puppy's wait.

  2. Question 2

    What does “rose” mean in this sentence?

    The sun rose over the hills.

    • a flower with thorns
    • came up; went higher
    • a pink color
    • fell down

  3. Question 3

    Which sentence uses the right homophone?

    • Ravi road his bike to school.
    • Ravi rode his bike to school.
    • The rode was covered in snow.

  4. Question 4

    Which word correctly completes the sentence?

    ___ going to the park after school.

    • Their
    • They're
    • There

  5. Question 5

    Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings are called…

    • homophones
    • antonyms
    • synonyms
    • homographs

  6. Question 6

    In which sentence does “match” mean “a game or contest”?

    • Do these two socks match?
    • Can you match each word to its picture?
    • Our team won the soccer match.

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