root, route

Root or root means the part of a plant or tree that grows underground--
The lawn mower won't go over the roots of that tree.
The roots of a plant are usually about the same size as the plant.
Beets are a root vegetable.
Hair also has roots--
This is supposed to be good for the roots of your hair.
She dyes her hair. Her roots are showing.
People may be said to have roots, meaning origins or upbringing--
He never forgot his farm country roots.
Troubles or problems are said to have roots--
The root of the problem seems to be a lack of information.
Root may also be a verb ( action word ) meaning to dig for something--
He has been rooting around in the garage for an hour.
Look--don't just root in the drawer.
Root also means to cheer for a team or contestant--
"Let's root, root, root for the home team..."
Which team are you rooting for?

Route or route ( rhymes with root ) means the set of roads or trails taken to get from one place to another--
An alternate route would be to take the expressway and get off at the next exit.
The GPS system can tell us the route from here to the city.
Route may be part of the name of a particular highway--
"...get your kicks on Route 66..."
You can follow Route 1 from here to Maine or Florida.
Route may mean the order in which someone goes about delivering goods, or making calls--
The mailman follows the same route every day.
He has a paper route. He delivers the papers after school.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The puppy's route around the backyard included a stop to chew on every tree root and stick."

Note--"rout" ( rhymes with out ) means to defeat badly--
The score was ten to one. It was a rout.