Homophones for SSC CGL: Quick Answer
Homophones are words that sound the same (or almost the same) but have different meanings and usually different spellings, such as stationary (not moving) and stationery (writing material). In SSC CGL, CHSL and bank exams they appear in fill in the blanks, error spotting, sentence improvement and cloze tests, where the wrong look-alike word is the trap.
Key takeaway: Learn homophones in pairs with one short sentence each. In an exam, check the part of speech first: "affect" is usually a verb, "effect" usually a noun; "principal" can be a person, "principle" is a rule.
Homophones vs Homonyms vs Homographs
| Term | Sound | Spelling | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homophone | Same | Usually different | Different | pair / pear |
| Homograph | Can differ | Same | Different | lead (metal) / lead (guide) |
| Homonym | Same | Same | Different | bank (river) / bank (money) |
Many books use "homonym" loosely for all three; SSC questions on "commonly confused words" mostly test homophones and near-homophones.
Most Asked Homophones for SSC CGL (with Meaning)
| Word 1 | Meaning | Word 2 | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| stationary | not moving | stationery | paper, pens |
| principal | head of a school; main; sum lent | principle | a rule or belief |
| complement | something that completes | compliment | praise |
| council | elected body | counsel | advice; lawyer |
| capital | chief city; money | capitol | US legislative building |
| cite | quote | site / sight | place / vision |
| altar | table in a temple or church | alter | change |
| aisle | passage between rows | isle | small island |
| berth | bed on a train; ship's place | birth | being born |
| bridal | of a bride | bridle | horse's head harness |
| ceiling | top of a room | sealing | closing tightly |
| cereal | grain | serial | in a series |
| coarse | rough | course | path; series of lessons |
| dual | double | duel | fight between two |
| fair | just; light-coloured; a mela | fare | ticket price |
| hoard | store secretly | horde | large crowd |
| lessen | reduce | lesson | something taught |
| loan | money lent | lone | alone |
| post | male | man | |
| meat | flesh | meet | come together |
| pail | bucket | pale | light in colour |
| peace | calm | piece | part |
| plain | simple; flat land | plane | aircraft; flat surface |
| pray | worship | prey | hunted animal |
| reign | rule of a king | rein | strap to control a horse |
| role | part played | roll | turn over; bread roll |
| sole | only; bottom of the foot | soul | spirit |
| steal | rob | steel | metal |
| storey | floor of a building | story | tale |
| waist | middle of the body | waste | rubbish; misuse |
| wait | stay | weight | heaviness |
| weather | climate condition | whether | if |
| wave | sea movement | waive | give up a right |
| vain | proud; useless | vein | blood vessel |
Near-Homophones (Commonly Confused Words) for SSC
These do not sound exactly alike, but SSC treats them as confusing pairs:
| Pair | Difference |
|---|---|
| accept / except | receive / leaving out |
| affect / effect | influence (verb) / result (noun) |
| adapt / adopt | adjust / take as one's own |
| advice / advise | noun / verb |
| allusion / illusion | indirect reference / false belief |
| beside / besides | next to / in addition to |
| conscience / conscious | moral sense / awake, aware |
| eminent / imminent | famous / about to happen |
| elicit / illicit | draw out / illegal |
| emigrate / immigrate | leave a country / enter a country |
| loose / lose | not tight / misplace or fail to win |
| precede / proceed | come before / go forward |
| personal / personnel | private / staff |
| quiet / quite | silent / fairly, completely |
| desert / dessert | dry land; abandon / sweet dish |
| device / devise | gadget (noun) / plan (verb) |
| ingenious / ingenuous | clever / innocent, frank |
| moral / morale | lesson; ethics / confidence of a group |
| than / then | comparison / time |
| later / latter | afterwards / second of two |
How to Solve Homophone Questions in SSC CGL (Step-by-Step)
- Read the full sentence and decide what the blank needs: noun, verb, adjective or adverb.
- Match the part of speech: advice (noun) vs advise (verb), device (noun) vs devise (verb), practice (noun in British use) vs practise (verb).
- Look for signal words: "the ___ of the school" points to principal; "high moral ___" points to principles; "the ___ of war" (good spirit) points to morale.
- Check the collocation: "pay a compliment", "a ten-storey building", "rein in spending", "waive the fee".
- Eliminate the spelling that does not fit even one meaning in the sentence.
Homophones in Sentences (SSC Exam Style)
- The bus remained stationary while she bought stationery from the shop.
- The principal explained the principle of honesty in assembly.
- Her saree was a perfect complement to his kurta; he paid her a compliment.
- The bank agreed to waive the late fee.
- The king's reign lasted 40 years; the rider pulled the reins.
- She lives on the third storey of the building.
- The lion stalked its prey.
Homophones Questions with Answers (Practice Set)
- The teacher bought new ______ for the class. (stationary / stationery) Answer: stationery (writing material).
- Hard work is the ______ of success. (principal / principle) Answer: principle (rule or basis).
- The minister asked the ______ to meet on Monday. (council / counsel) Answer: council (an elected body).
- A ______ of locusts destroyed the crop. (hoard / horde) Answer: horde (a large group).
- The new rule will ______ thousands of farmers. (affect / effect) Answer: affect (verb: to influence).
- The team's ______ was high after the win. (moral / morale) Answer: morale (confidence).
- She could not decide ______ to go or stay. (weather / whether) Answer: whether.
- The rider tightened the ______. (reigns / reins) Answer: reins.
- Please do not ______ your ticket. (loose / lose) Answer: lose.
- The storm was ______; people were told to leave at once. (eminent / imminent) Answer: imminent (about to happen).
Common Mistakes with Homophones in SSC
- Writing "complement" when praise is meant (the correct word is compliment).
- Using "advice" as a verb ("I advice you" is wrong; "I advise you").
- Confusing "storey" (floor) with "story" (tale) in British English, which SSC follows.
- Using "principle" for the head of a school.
- Mixing "its" (possessive) and "it's" (it is), a homophone pair often tested in error spotting.
Homophones for SSC CGL FAQs
What are homophones with examples?
Words that sound the same but differ in meaning and often spelling: pair/pear, steal/steel, wait/weight, sole/soul.
What is the difference between homonyms and homophones?
Homonyms share spelling and sound (bank/bank); homophones share sound but usually not spelling (flour/flower).
Are homophones asked in SSC CGL?
Yes. They appear mostly in fill in the blanks, error spotting and sentence improvement questions in the English section.
How many homophones should I learn for SSC?
The 50 to 100 most common pairs, like the lists on this page, cover most questions.
Is "practice" and "practise" a homophone pair?
Yes. In British English, which SSC follows, "practice" is the noun and "practise" the verb.
Practice Next
- Mock tests: SSC CGL English Comprehension Sectional Mock Test 01, SSC CGL English Mini Mock Test 01, SSC CHSL Fill in the Blanks Mock Test 01 and SSC CHSL Error Spotting Mock Test 01.
- Job update: SSC CGL 2026.
- Related notes: spelling errors asked in SSC CGL, one word substitution for SSC CGL, synonyms and antonyms for SSC CGL 2026 and idioms asked in SSC CGL.
- Browse all study notes.