Homophone errors are almost never a knowledge gap – they are slips made under time pressure, and they cost SPaG marks on every writing task. This free worksheet puts the twelve most-confused pairs on one page with a memorable rule for each, then gives you forty marks of practice, from circling the right word to correcting a full letter paragraph.
Free to download, print and share for personal or classroom use. Answers included.
What’s in this worksheet
- Rules table: their/there/they’re, your/you’re, its/it’s, to/too/two, where/were/we’re/wear, affect/effect, practice/practise, accept/except, then/than, could have (not ‘of’), lose/loose, whether/weather
- Part 1 – choose the right word in nine sentences (16 marks)
- Part 2 – ten sentences with one wrong word to correct (10 marks)
- Part 3 – write your own sentence using both words in a pair (6 marks)
- Part 4 – a formal letter paragraph with eight wrong words to find (8 marks)
- Full answers
Common mistakes on this topic
From our tutors’ marking and the most recent examiner reports – check your work against these:
- Relying on spell-check habits – the computer will not flag “their” when you meant “there”, because both are real words.
- Writing quickly and never re-reading. Homophone errors are almost always slips, not gaps in knowledge – proofreading fixes most of them.
- Treating “could of” as correct because it sounds like “could’ve”. Write “could have” every time.
How to use it
- Print the worksheet (or work on screen) and attempt every question without looking at the answers. Give yourself a rough time limit – Level 2 exams are tight.
- Mark your work against the answer page. For maths, check the method as well as the final number; method marks are where most of the marks are.
- Read the ‘common mistakes’ notes below and check whether any of them happened to you. Then redo the questions you got wrong a day later.
Related free resources
- Functional Skills English Level 2 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Worksheet
- Functional Skills English Level 2 Paragraphing and Connectives Worksheet
- Plan a Functional Skills Writing Task in 5 Minutes – Free Planning Sheet
- All free Functional Skills English Level 2 resources
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between affect and effect?
Affect is usually the verb – to influence something: ‘the rain affected the match’. Effect is usually the noun – the result: ‘the effect was a two-hour delay’. If you can put ‘the’ or ‘an’ in front of it, you want effect.
Practice or practise?
In British English, practice with a C is the noun (football practice, a doctor’s practice) and practise with an S is the verb (I practise every day). It follows the same pattern as advice and advise.
Is ‘could of’ ever correct?
No. It comes from the sound of ‘could’ve’, but the correct form is always ‘could have’, ‘should have’ and ‘would have’. Examiners flag ‘could of’ as a grammar error every time.
Want a tutor to mark your work? Not sure where you stand? Take the free 15-minute mini mock test. Ready to get qualified? Our live 10-week Functional Skills Level 2 English course runs in small groups with a mock exam included, and the 5-day revision course is there if your exam is close.