Don’t let strange word escape you. When you come upon a new word, circle it, underline it, highlight it - do something to make it stand out. If you can’t write on the page, use stick-on notes.

Try to figure out the meaning of the word from its context.

Look the word up in the closest dictionary (in a book or on your computer).

Write the definition down in a handy notebook of new words or on flash cards. Later, look over your new words and their definitions. Think about them. Try to learn them.

Use the new words as soon as you can in conversation or on a school paper.

The more you use a word, the better you know it.

You’ll never know the meanings of all the words in English (nobody toes or ever will know them all), but your vocabulary will grow and grow.

Building up your vocabulary is a lifelong activity.

There are many words in English that you have to be especially careful about because they're so tricky. And there are lots of words that have the same or opposite meanings. (Homonyms, Homographs, and Synonyms and Antonyms

Homonyms and Homographs

Some people call homonyms homophones.

Homonyms are words that are pronounced exactly like other words but have different spellings and differed meanings.

Homonyms can play nasty tricks on your spell-checker, so it's to be able to tell them apart and use them correctly.

Here are some of the homonyms that befuddle writers the most. If you’re not sure what some of them mean, check your dictionary.

The heir to the throne breathed in some fresh air.

We are not allowed to talk aloud in the library.

The construction crew will alter the church altar.

Last night I ate about eight of those frosted donuts.

She started to bawl when she got hit by the ball.

He plays bass fiddle in the band and third base on the team.

When will that bee ever be back at this flower?

Little Boy Blue said he blew his horn.

The bow of the ship is made from the bough of a tree.

Don’t hit the brake of your bike too hard or you'll break it.

When you walk by the store, buy some milk. 'Bye for now’.

The state capital building is in the capital city of the state.

In each box of the cereal was another chapter in the serial.

He may choose the kind of gum he chews.

The lovely site on the postcard was a sight for sore eyes.

Take a language course to improve your coarse language.

I’m asking the student council to counsel me in this matter.

This gold cymbal is a symbol of the success of our band.

The baby deer in the petting zoo was such a dear thing.

It takes dual weapons to fight a duel.

Does a pottery worker earn a lot for making an urn?

Flee, oh tiny flea, before you get squished.

Down the windy flue of the chimney flew the sickening flu.

The farmer raised a clean chicken, not a foul that was fowl.

The fourth marching band in the parade marched forth.

The animal covered in fur stood under the fir tree.

The gnu really knew the old zoo, not the new zoo.

Rabbit fur is sometimes called "hair of the hare."

The pilot’s coat hangs on a hanger in the airplane hangar.

A foot doctor’s job: He'll try to heal your sore heel.

Put your ear here and you'll hear the mysterious sound.

The cowboy heard a thundering herd of cattle passing by.

Hie (hurry) up the high hill to say hi to the climbers.

This sore throat spray is for my horse that is hoarse.

This quite hour is our special time together.

At my island wedding, I'll walk down the aisle on the isle.

The miner led me to the lead ore in the cave.

To lessen the difficulty of the lesson, add humor to it.

This is the lone bank that will loan me money.

The new maid has made the beds very nicely.

In Maine you'll see an animal with a mane in the main zoo.

That little insect might be a mite or a tick.

At night, the knight takes off his shining armor.

No, I don’t know the answer to every question.

I am not very good at tying this complicated knot.

Use this oar to row to the cave, or you won't find the ore.

She lifted the heavy pail, turned pale, and fainted.

A doctor must have patience to deal with her patients.

If they live up this piece of land, there will be peace.

When I heard the bell peal, I slipped on the banana peel.

He works on the pier and feels he is everyone's peer.

Pray for the animals that other animals prey on.

The principal instills the principle of honesty in students.

Rain fell on the horse's rein in the king's reign.

I read the blue book, the green book, and the red book.

Read the directions on how to fit the reed on your clarinet.

She will write out the right words to the ceremonial rite.

On my route through the woods, I tripped on a tree root.

I'll sail across the lake to get bargains at the big sale.

The scent she sent me to buy cost more than a cent.

From the top of the lighthouse you can see miles of sea.

The warden of the prison would not sell me a jail cell.

Sew up the seed bag so you can sow the seeds.

She rode her sleigh into the giant's woods to slay him.

The poor bird couldn't soar because its wings were sore.

Some people think that this sum is too high.

Cover your son with sun block so he won't get a burn.

Walking is good for the soul, but the sole of my foot hurts.

The stationery store doesn't move, so it's stationary.

The police arrested them for trying to steal the steel.

I’ll pound a stake into the ground, and you cook us a steak.

The captain sailed straight through the dangerous strait.

He wave a fascinating tale about the tail of the golden lion.

The stadium will teem with people to see our team play

They’re telling me that their car is parked over there.

Two people are too many to sit on one seat.

The weather vane fell and cut the vein of the vain man.

If you stop eating so much, your thick waist will waste away.

Wait a minute, and I'll tell you the weight of your package.

Where do you have to wear a tuxedo in a hardware store?

He got sick, and for a week he felt very weak.

The weather will determine whether we stay in or go out.

Which broomstick belongs to the witch?

He dug a whole ton of dirt out of the hole.

Who’s claiming whose kid is smarter?

On the television quiz show, he won only one dollar.

Thanks for saying that you're sorry for your mistake.

Homographs are words that are spelled exactly alike but have different sounds and different meanings. Getting Your Message Across

Homographs are the opposite of homonyms.

Homonyms: different meanings same sounds

Homographs same spelling different sounds

The words in parentheses are words that rhyme with or sound like homographs. They will help you pronounce the homographs correctly. Definitions of the words are in italics.

bass (rhymes with face): a low-pitched sound

bass (rhymes with pass): a type of fish

The bass singer loves to fish for bass.

bow (rhymes with no): a knot with two loops

bow (rhymes with now): to bend downward from the waist

Put this bow on your head and take a bow.

desert (sounds like duh-zert): to abandon, withdraw from

desert (sounds like dez-ert): a dry, barren, sandy place

Never desert your post in the hot desert.

Do (rhymes with go): to carry out a task

do (rhymes with go): the first note on the scale

please do singthe scale starting with the note do.

Does (rhymes with fuzz): present tense of the verb "to do"

does(rhymeswith foes): female deer

Does this zoo haveany does?

dove (rhymes with love): a bird associated with peace

dove (rhymes with stove): past tense of "to plunge"

A beautiful dove dove out of the sky and swooped down.

Drawer (rhymes with sore): boxlike compartment in a piece of furniture

That can be pulled out

drawer (sounds like draw-er): a person who draws

info the dresser drawer, the drawer put her drawings.

lead (rhymes with seed): to show the way

lead (rhymes with said): a soft, dense metal

Will you lead me right to the stockpile of lead?

Lima (sounds like "lee-muh"): capital city of Peru

Lima(sounds like "I'm a"): a large, light green bean

In Lima they love to eat lima beans for dinner.

live (rhymes with give): to be alive

live (rhymes with drive): having life

I want to live long enough to meet a live alien from space.

minute (rhymes with "in it"): sixty seconds

minute (rhymes with "my boot"): exceptionally tiny

in a minute we'll see minute atomic particles on the screen.

Polish (pronounced poh-lish): of or relating to Poland

polish (pronounced paw-lish): liquid used to shine a surface

The Polish company developed a new furniture polish.

read (rhymes with reed): to understand printed words

read (rhymes with red): past tense of "to read"

Read this book and you'll have read every book in the library.

row (rhymes with no): a series of objects in a straight line

row (rhymes with now): a big quarrel

He knocked over her row of blocks, and they had a big row.

sow (rhymes with no): to scatter seeds for growing

sow (rhymes with now): an adult female hog

If you sow the seeds today, that big sow might eat them.

tear (rhymes with chair): to rip apart

tear (rhymes with cheer): a drop of water from an eye

When she saw him tear up her picture, a tear came to her eye.

wind (rhymes with find): to wrap something around

wind (rhymes with sinned): air that is moving

It’s impossible to wind up the string of this kite in this wind.

wound (rhymes with found): past tense of "to wind"

wound (rhymes with crooned): an injury

The nurse wound the bandage tightly around his wound.