Have you ever wondered what happens when a frog’s car breaks down? Well, he has to get it toad. That’s a dumb joke, I know, but it’s the perfect way to illustrate what a homophone is. Words can be a lot of fun and if you laughed (or groaned) at that silly joke, you may be a person who loves words and plays on worlds. Bruce Worden is a man who loves words and he’s the artist and wordsmith behind the blog Homophones Weakly, where he shares illustrations that he has created to show how confusing the English language can be.
Bruce’s drawings are a lot of fun, and they show what happens when two words sound a lot alike. Bruce’s blog aims to give a visual exploration of “words that look the same, sound the same, or are otherwise easily confused.” A homophone can be a word that sounds the same, although occasionally to a varying extent. Even though they sound the same, the words will have a completely different meaning. Also, homophones sometimes have the same spelling, even. For example, “rose” the flower and “rose” the past tense of the verb rise. They are spelled exactly the same, but have different meanings. Let’s check out some of Bruce’s best ones. Remember the old bad joke about being a “cereal killer” who eats gobs of cereal?
Bruce Worden
What happens if you cut your foot? Your heel may have to heal.
Bruce Worden
He did a great job with raise/rays/raze.
Bruce Worden
This one is amazing. Hello, Abe times three.
Bruce Worden
Interesting depiction of “die” in the first one.
Bruce Worden
This one is great.
Bruce Worden
I see this confused a lot.
Bruce Worden
Good job on this one.
Bruce Worden
So many people need to see this.
Bruce Worden
Every single day, I see someone misuse one of these.
Bruce Worden
What happens when you don’t use your boat enough.
Bruce Worden
An excellent example.
Bruce Worden
Often, they guy on the throne needs to get thrown (like now in our country).
Bruce Worden
Another epic comparison.
Bruce Worden
OK then.
Bruce Worden
People who whine usually can benefit from a little wine.
Bruce Worden
If you don’t use your brake, you might break something.
Bruce Worden
Flea vs Flee.
Bruce Worden
I love the which and witch one.
Bruce Worden
This is actually hilarious.
Bruce Worden
Love how he did this.
Bruce Worden
Nicely done.
Bruce Worden
Can we get a piece of peace?
Bruce Worden
Pet peeve: people saying “bare with me.”
Bruce Worden