either, ether

Either or either ( pronounced "ee ther" or "eye ther", with a "th" as in "this" ), means a choice between two alternatives--
We can go to either show; the late screening starts at 9 p.m.
Do you want pizza or burgers? Either one is fine with me.

Ether or ether ( ee ther, with a "th" as in "thing" ) means the chemical that was once used as anesthesia, and for some manufacturing processes--
The Mad Hatter was crazy from breathing in the ether he used to treat the hats he made.
Before surgery, in the 19th century, they knocked people out by making them breathe ether.
Ether is also an old-fashioned term for air--
He dreamed of flying in the blue ether.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Doctors once used either chloroform or ether to put people to sleep before an operation."

block, bloc

Block or block means a square or cube, or some things that are shaped like a square or cube--
You can walk; it's only a block away.
The baby can't reach the block he was playing with.
We should buy a block of ice to put in the pool.
Block also means to get in the way of someone or something, literally or figuratively--
Don't block the hall with your toys.
He has a bad case of writer's block.

Bloc or bloc ( rhymes with block ) means a set or group of nations, united for a purpose--
Many nations in the former communist bloc have changed their governments.
The oil-exporting nations form a powerful bloc.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Conservatives in the communist bloc would like to block any further capitalist reforms.'

perk, perq

Perk or perk, used in the expression "perk up", means to liven up, or to become vivacious ( perky )--
He will perk up after he has his coffee.
Perk up! Are you too tired to play?

Perk or perk is also short for "percolate", meaning to boil water or liquid so that it bubbles up through something, such as coffee--
The coffee will perk for a few minutes before it is ready.
You can see the coffee perk in the little glass knob on top of the pot.

Perq or perq ( rhymes with perk, sometimes spelled perk ) is short for "perquisite", meaning a fringe benefit or freebie that comes with a job--
The best perq of this job is that we get to eat our mistakes.
The pay isn't good, but they like the perq of taking the new devices home to test them.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"One perq of working in the coffee shop is that we will all perk up after we perk the coffee."

Note--"prerequisite" means a condition that must be met in advance of something, usually a course that is required before enrolling in a course of a higher level--
Freshman English is a prerequisite for this course.

invisible, indivisible

Invisible or invisible describes something that can't be seen--
Many people believe that the economy is guided by an "invisible hand".
People keep bumping into him, as if he's invisible.
Germs are invisible to the naked eye; they can only be seen with a microscope.

Indivisible or indivisible describes something that can't be divided--
"One nation, under God, indivisible..."
Many people consider marriage an indivisible union.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"An invisible bond of loyalty renders them an indivisible unit."

Note--"visible" describes something that can be seen--
The sign is visible from the highway.
A look of disbelief was visible on his face.
Note # 2 --"Divisible" describes something that can be divided, meaning cut or separated into pieces--
This land is divisible into one-acre lots.
Divisible is more commonly used as a math term--
Is 24 divisible by 4? ( yes )
17 is not divisible by 4.
Note # 3-- not to be confused with "invincible", meaning impossible to defeat or conquer--
Superman is the man of steel; he is invincible.

home, hone

Home or home means place of residence or origin, or the house one lives in--
Go home!
Is New York City your home?
Our team is playing a home game today, and we are going to see it.
Is anyone home?
Are they at home?

Hone or hone means to sharpen, literally or figuratively--
He uses a grinding stone to hone the edge of his tools.
He hopes that playing this game will help to hone his wits.
Hone also means the stone used to sharpen a razor or blade--
He is looking for the hone he uses to sharpen his razor.
Hone also means a tool used to enlarge the dimensions of a hole to a desired size--
After you drill the hole, use the hone to enlarge it to 1/2" in diameter.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"When he gets home he will hone that blade for you."

Note--"to home in on" means to get closer and closer to a source, such as the source of a radio broadcast, or to a target for a missile--
It will take several seconds for the missile to home in on the target.

sick, sic

Sick or sick means ill or not well, physically, or unbalanced or disturbed, mentally--
He called in sick because he has the flu.
He is still feeling too sick to go to school.
This is the product of a sick mind.

Sic or sic ( rhymes with sick ) means to set a dog or guard animal upon, by ordering it to attack--
He got rid of the obnoxious salesman by threatening to sic the dog on him.
That dog has been trained to attack, and the owner may sic him on you if you bother him.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He claims he is too sick to go out, but he is really afraid that our neighbor will sic that dog on him."
Note--Sic is also Latin for "thus", meaning "like this", and is used when quoting a passage from another work, to show that any unusual spelling or grammar is as found in the original, and not an added error made by the person doing the quoting--
"Ain't [sic] she sweet..."
"Sometimes I sits [sic] and thinks..."

dense, dents

Dense or dense means thick, crowded, or difficult to get through , literally or figuratively--
There is a dense crowd in the plaza.
It seems dark in the dense forest.
He can be very dense sometimes.

Dents or dents ( rhymes with dense ) is the plural ( more than one ) form of "dent", meaning a depression caused by the impact of something--
There are two dents in the car. Do you know how they got there?
Dents may also mean to cause a depression by impact--
I told him if he dents the car again, he'll have to pay for it himself.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We have two dents in our cooler from trying to make our way through the dense crowd."

caliber, caliper

Caliber or caliber means the measure of the inside of a tube, or something else that is a section of a cylinder--
You can't use a bullet of that caliber in this gun. It's the wrong size.
You'll need a length of 2" caliber pipe to finish this job.

Caliper or caliper ( almost rhymes with caliber, usually "calipers" ) means a tool to measure the thickness of something, or its inside or outside diameter, or the distance between its parts. A caliper has two sides hooked together like a pair of tongs or forceps--
You will need an inside caliper to measure the tube.
Caliper also means the thickness of paper, for example, or a tree--
If we use 1/8" caliper cardboard, the cartons will be less expensive.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We can measure the caliper of the tree before we cut it down, and the caliber of the hollow log after it is cut."
"We will need a caliper to measure the caliber of the tube."

Note--you may encounter "caliber" used to mean the quality or measure of worth of a person. This seems trite, as well as nonsensical, as people can't be measured like tubes. It's an expression that annoys a lot of people.
Note # 2--"calibre" is a British or old-fashioned spelling of "caliber".

bolder, boulder

Bolder or bolder is the comparative ( more than ) form of "bold", meaning daring, brave, or conspicuous--
They think he will win, because he is bolder.
You'll have to be bolder if you want to get ahead.
That outfit is bolder than the clothes she usually wears.

Boulder or boulder ( rhymes with bolder ) means a very large, rounded, rock, separated from its surroundings--
A boulder came loose and rolled down the hill, and now the highway is closed.
A large boulder marks the end of the trail.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"A bolder man wouldn't hide behind a boulder."

Note--"Boulder" ( a proper name, and always capitalized ) is a city in Colorado--
He can't decide whether to go to Boulder or Denver.

pearl, purl

Pearl or pearl means the round thing used as a gem, made by an oyster--
An oyster may be used to make a cultured pearl, using a plastic bead instead of a grain of sand.
Their mother always wore a pearl necklace and high heels.

Purl or purl ( rhymes with pearl ) means a type of knitting stitch--
The directions say to knit row one and purl two.
If you purl every other row, the scarf will have narrow ribs.
Purl also means to flow or ripple, as water in a stream over stones--
He liked to watch the brook purl over the rocks.
You can hear the stream purl over the stones from here.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"When she turned her knitting over for to purl a row, it caught on her pearl necklace and broke it."

Note--"purlin" ( sometimes spelled purline ) means one of the pieces of a roof fame, used to support the rafters--
He accidentally sawed up the board we need for the last purlin.
Not to be confused with "purl in"--
If I knit in blue and purl in red, the sweater will have ribbed stripes.
Not to be confused with "pearl in"--
There's a pearl in my oyster!

id, ID, ides, ids, ID's

Id or id ( pronounced to rhyme with "hid" ) is a term from psychoanalysis, meaning the part of the psyche that has an impulse to pleasure, or that derives energy from attraction or appetite--
His id urged him to eat a steak dinner and cake, but he stuck to his diet.
The id is said to act on the "pleasure principle".

Ids or ids ( pronounced to rhyme with "lids" ) is the plural ( more than one ) of "id", although each person only has one id, and the psychoanalytical literature usually uses "the id" to refer to this in a general way--
How can dieters eat lettuce with no dressing, when their ids are demanding rich, fatty foods?
Many people believe that it would be unhealthy to make their ids subject to reason or control.

ID or I.D. ( pronounced as the two letters, "I" "D" , eye dee ), is an abbreviation of  "identity document", or "identifying document", or of "identity" or "identification", such as a driver's license or passport--
Can I see your ID?
He forgot his ID, and they won't let him in the nightclub.

ID's or I.D.'s ( pronounced eye deez ) is the plural ( more than one ) of  "ID" or "I.D.", meaning an identity document--
They left their ID's at home, and got a ticket when they were pulled over.
This is the line for people with no picture ID's.

Ides or ides ( pronounced to rhymes with "hides" ) means the fifteenth ( 15th  ) day of the month, or, more correctly, the middle of the month--the 15th in some months, the 13th in others, according to the ancient Roman calendar--
"Beware the ides of March".
Julius Caesar failed to heed the warning about the ides of March.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"To celebrate the ides of March, he followed his id into a nightclub, but realized he had forgotten his ID."
"Their ids urged them to go out on the town, so they took their ID's and debit cards, and went to see Caesar murdered on the ides of March."

Note--"I'd" ( pronounced to rhyme with "ride" ) is a contraction ( short, informal form ) of "I would"--
I'd like to see that new movie.
"I'd rather be blue, thinking of you..."

prize, pries

Prize or prize means an award; something that is won, in a competition, a sweepstakes, or a contest, literal or figurative--
He was so happy when he won the prize.
You won a prize for your suggestion.
Prize also means to value something highly--
Who knew she would prize her vegetable garden to such an extent?
She  is bound to prize that; her mother left it to her.

Pries or pries ( rhymes with prize ) is the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "pry", meaning to raise or move with a lever--
Where is the tool Dad uses when he pries off the hubcaps to change the tire?
Mom uses this when she pries the lid off a can of paint.
Pries, a form of pry, also means to inquire into something personal, or to inquire in too personal a manner--
She often pries into things that are none of her business.
He pries when he is suspicious, which is often.

Now that you know that you can say--
"He will be upset if she pries into how he won that prize."

Note--not to be confused with "price", meaning the cost of something--
Can you tell me the price of this coat?

wane, wain

Wane or wane means to diminish or grow smaller--
When we notice the moon wane, we can see that it gets smaller every night.
You could see the old man's strength wane day by day.

Wain or wain ( rhymes with wane ) means a kind of cart or farm wagon--
"The Hay Wain" is one of his favorite paintings.
They loaded the wain with corn and headed for the barn.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"When they noticed the daylight wane, they hurried to finish loading the wain."

Note--not to be confused with "Wayne" ( rhymes with wane ), a man's given or first name--
We can't leave until Wayne gets here.
Wayne may also be a surname or last name, or the name of a place--
They just got back from Fort Wayne.

nap, knap

Nap or nap means a short sleep break--
Grandpa likes to take a nap in the afternoon.
The baby wouldn't take a nap, and now he's cranky.

Nap also means the pile or plush of material such as velvet or corduroy--
If you use this pattern on material with a nap, make sure the pieces all go the same way.
The buttons left a mark in the velvet where the nap was crushed.

Knap or knap ( rhymes with nap ) means to break sharply, or to rap sharply, as when breaking stones into small pieces--
Try not to knap the stone with the flint.
The man plans to knap these stones into small landscaping rocks.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"It's hard to take a nap when I can hear the men knap stones in the yard."

Note--not to be confused with "nape", meaning the back of the neck--
He gave himself a haircut, but he couldn't shave the nape of his neck.

antic, antique

Antic or antic ( an tick )  means a playful trick or prank, or a strange or grotesque pose--
He became impatient watching the child perform one antic after another.
He came up with an antic that no one could imitate.
Antic is also a verb ( action word ), meaning to play or frolic--
The lambs antic on the lawn when the weather is fine.
Antic is also an old-fashioned word for a clown or grotesque character----
At the end of the scene an antic appears, and the other characters exit one at a time.

Antique or antique ( an teek ) means old--more than 50 years old for some purposes, more than 100 years old for others--
This is antique table.
He wants an antique pool table.
Antique may be used as a noun ( thing or idea ) meaning an old thing--
Is this table an antique?
If we keep this a few more years, it will be an antique.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Don't let the children antic near that antique sideboard. They might scratch it."

Note--"antics" means playful tricks or pranks--
They like to watch the antics of the young goats in the Spring.
Not to be confused with "antiques", meaning more than one old thing--
They went out to look at some antiques.
Note # 2--"antick" is an old-fashioned spelling of "antic"--
He performed an unusual antick that became a part of the play.

idea, ideal

Idea or idea means a notion or concept , something formed in the mind--
That's a good idea! Let's go out for a pizza.
Leaving your sandwich where the dog could get it was a bad idea.
When Edison invented the light bulb, he had to try 200 experiments to get his idea to work.

Ideal or ideal means the most perfect imaginable form of something--
He has spent years looking for his ideal mate.
This vacation spot is ideal--so quiet, but near the beach.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"I have an idea for an ideal night out. Let's take the kids to the outdoor movie."

Note--"I deal" ( two words ) is the first person singular ( I ) from of "deal", meaning to hand out, as cards, or to do business in, as products for sale--
You cut the cards; I deal.
I deal in antiques and collectibles.

lay, lai, lei

Lay or lay means to set something in a recumbent or horizontal position--
She went upstairs to lay out her clothes for tomorrow.
You can lay your coats on the chair in the hall.

Lay also means to deposit or set a thing on a surface, or on another thing or person, literally or figuratively--
He learned to lay bricks from his father.
We shouldn't lay all of the blame on him.

Lay or lay also describes a secular person, as opposed to a member of the clergy--
He hopes to start a lay ministry that will reach out to the homeless.
The meeting will be for the clergy and any interested lay persons.

Lay also means a short poem--
He wrote a poem meant to resemble an old-fashioned lay.
The class is reading 'The Lay of the Last Minstrel."

Lai or lai ( rhymes with lay ) means a kind of medieval poem or song, usually about love or romance--
Our French class is reading a medieval lai about Lancelot and Guinevere.
This lai was originally written in medieval french, so it loses something in the translation.

Lei or lei ( rhymes with lay, or pronounced lay ee ) means a garland of flowers, as worn in Hawaii--
He was greeted with a lei on his arrival in Hawaii.
Each guest wore a paper lei and a flowered shirt.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"While the lei of orchids lay on the table, he began to compose a lai in honor of their trip to Hawaii."

boson, bosun

Boson or boson means one of the elementary particles of an atom--
A boson is actually a measure of the force inside an atom.
Physicists now believe that the force or movement of each boson may be what holds matter together.

Bosun or bosun ( almost rhymes with boson ) comes from "boatswain",  also spelled "bo's'n", meaning a warrant officer on a navy or merchant ship, in charge of the anchors, cables and lines on the deck--
The bosun traditionally has a special whistle that makes a recognizable sound.
He was on his first voyage, but hoped to be a bosun after a few years.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He tried to explain the properties of a boson inside an atom by showing how the sailors on deck moved about on orders from the bosun."

papal, paypal

Papal or papal  ( pay puhl ) means having to do with the pope, in the Vatican City, in Rome--the head of the Roman Catholic church--
Visitors to Rome sometimes attend a papal audience.
People ask a lot of questions about the papal tiara.

PayPal or paypal  ( pay pal ) means the internet financial service used to pay for online purchases, or to send money to someone else with a PayPal account--
Many online retailers accept Paypal for purchases.
He wants to open a PayPal account so that he can shop online.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He used his PayPal account to buy a replica of a papal bull."

Note--not to be confused with the verb ( action word ) "pay", used in a sentence--
They are robbing Peter to pay Paul.
I have to save some money to pay my pal for the work he did on my computer.

review, revue

Review or review means, literally to look at again, as when studying material learned, or important points covered in a meeting, by the press, or by any other means--
Today we will review what we learned over the past two weeks.
I always like to watch the year in review special.
Review may be part of the title of a publication reporting on different events and developments--
He never misses The Saturday Review.

Review also means to offer an estimate or evaluation of something--a movie, a book, a restaurant, job performance, or something else, such as a product--
I read a review that said that movie was terrible.
If you're not sure about what to buy, look for a product review at the bottom of the page.

Revue or revue ( rhymes with review ) means a variety show, with different acts instead of a continuous story--
They have tickets to a revue on Broadway, and want to know if we'd like to go.
Each act in the revue was performed by different dancers.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The review of the new musical revue is very positive."

dingy, dinghy

Dingy or dingy ( dinn jee ) means worn or dirty with use, dull or shabby--
That chair looks dingy. We should have it reupholstered.
The house looked weathered and dingy from the outside, but the inside was bright.

Dinghy or dinghy ( dinn ghee ) means a little boat that is carried on a larger boat--
Do you think you can take the dinghy and row to shore?
That looks like a man in the water. Lower the dinghy and we'll pick him up.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The dinghy is looking dingy--it needs a fresh coat of paint."

Note--not to be confused with "ding", the sound made when a bell rings--
You could hear the ding-dong of the bell for nearly a mile.