morning, mourning

Morning or morning means the time of day between midnight and noon--
They didn't get home until two o'clock in the morning.
He like to get up early in the morning to see the sun rise.

Mourning or mourning ( rhymes with morning )  means being in a state of sorrow for the death of a friend or loved one--
In some cultures they still wear black clothing for a year as a sign of mourning.
He was very popular. His friends were still mourning his passing.
Some widows wear mourning for then rest of their lives.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The widow got up early every morning and put on her mourning clothes."

Note--"morn" is an old-fashioned word for morning--
"...I think how evening follows morn..."
Not to be confused with "mourn", meaning to regret someone's death--
His friends tried to tell him not to mourn any longer.
Note # 2--a "mourner" is someone attending a funeral--
There were hundreds of mourners at the funeral.
Note # 3--a "morning suit" is formal daytime attire--
He wore a morning suit to his wedding.
A "mourning suit" or "suit of morning"means a black or gray suit worn to a funeral--
He still wore a suit of mourning a year after her death.
A woman might once have worn a "morning dress"--
She arose and donned a morning dress to receive callers.
A woman in black for a funeral wears mourning or mourning clothes--
Rhett brought Scarlett a green hat, even though she was wearing mourning clothes.

hoard, horde

Hoard or hoard means an enormous store of goods, or a stockpile--
The miser liked only one thing--to count his hoard of gold.
When they warned of a hurricane, he amassed a hoard of provisions.
Hoard may also mean the act of stockpiling goods, or amassing a great store of something--
The social worker was worried that his compulsion to hoard was making the apartment unhealthy.

Horde or horde ( rhymes with hoard ) means a large army or crowd--
The armies of the Great Khan were called the Golden Horde.
A horde of horsemen swept down from the heights.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The plunder carried off by the horde of warriors amounted to a vast hoard of weapons and gold."

Note--"horrid" ( har id ) sounds much like "hoard" when some people say it. Horrid means really, really, terrible, awful or nasty--
What a horrid little woman!
Terrible? It was horrid!

find, fined

Find or find means to retrieve something that was lost, or to come upon something while shopping, walking, or going about--
Did you find my keys? I lost them.
They like to find seashells on the beach.
A good bargain at the flea market is considered a "find".

Fined or fined ( rhymes with find ) is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) form of "fine", meaning to charge money for an infraction of rules, laws, or ordinances--
He was fined $20 for parking in a no-parking zone.
The library fined her ten cents for each overdue book.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He was fined $50 for going the wrong way on the exit ramp when he couldn't find his way."

Note--"refine" means to process or alter something into a "finer" substance, literally or figuratively--
The oil companies refine oil to make gasoline.
She needs to refine her goals so that they are more specific.

plum, plumb

Plum or plum means the small summer fruit you see in the supermarket--
She found a recipe for plum cake.
Don't eat those plums; they're not ripe.
Prunes are dried plums, just as raisins are dried grapes.
Plum also means a deep purple color, even though plums may be red or yellow as well as purple--
That plum sweater is her favorite.
We are looking for plum paint for the house trim.

Plumb or plumb ( rhymes with plum ) means digging to the bottom of something, figuratively--
He was determined to plumb the well of philosophy in its entirety.
A good detective can plumb the darkest motives of human beings.
Plumb also means a lead weight used on the end of a string to mark a straight line on a wall, or to measure how deep something is--
He used a plumb bob to make sure the wallpaper was straight.
He used a plumb line to find out the depth of the well.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"A plum pit is not heavy enough to use as a plumb bob."

Note--"plum" may mean a prize, or an unexpected goodie--
"off of the tree of life I just picked me a plum..."
Note #2--"plumb" is an old slang expression for completely--
It plumb slipped my mind.
Note # 3--a "plumber" fixes "plumbing"--sinks, toilets, pipes and drains--
The toilet is leaking; call the plumber.

succeed, secede

Succeed or succeed ( suck seed ) means to achieve what was intended, or to arrive at the desired outcome of a plan or project--
If you don't do your schoolwork, you will not succeed.
He worked late every night on order to succeed in achieving the goals he had set for himself.

Secede or secede ( seh seed ) means the declaration of a state or a set of people to separate themselves from their country, and to form their own state or nation--
During the American Civil War, the North refused to acknowledge any right to secede from the union.
When the state of Virginia decided to secede from the union, the western part of the state decided to secede from Virginia, and form its own state, called West Virginia.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The southern states did not succeed in their plan to secede from the union."

Note--"success" is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "succeed"--
Work hard, and you will be a success.
"Succession" means a series of things--things that come one after the other, in order--
The project was plagued by a succession of  disasters.
"Succession" is also the term used when a monarch dies or gives up a throne, and is replaced by someone else--
The "Act of Succession" states plainly who will be the next king or queen.
"Secession" is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of  "secede"--
The secession of some of the southern states began the Civil War.

plaintiff, plaintive

Plaintiff or plaintiff means the party suing in a civil case--
The jury awarded a million dollars in damages to the plaintiff.
The judge decided that the plaintiff had brought a frivolous lawsuit to court.

Plaintive or plaintive means sad or mournful--
Our dog makes a plaintive wail every time he hears a siren.
The woman's plaintive cries commanded everyone's attention.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The plaintive cries of the plaintiff could be heard through the entire building."

Note--in a civil suit, the plaintiff sues the defendant for loss or damages. In the United States, the plaintiff has to demonstrate financial loss, and sues for that amount. In a criminal case, the prosecution ( the state or government ) tries the defendant.

resolution, solution, revolution

Resolution or resolution is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "resolve". Resolution means a firm decision or statement of intention--
She makes a resolution every January 1st.
A resolution also may be a public statement of an opinion or planned course of action made by a group or association--
The UN resolution on child labor was signed by only half of the countries present.

Solution or solution is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "solve". Solution means the answer to a problem--
The solution to the problem is in the back of the book.
Many economists claim to have the solution to financial problems.
Solution also means a liquid combined with another substance, or two liquids combined--
The medicine was dissolved in a solution of water and sugar.

Revolution or revolution means an uprising against the government or authority--
We celebrate the anniversary of the American Revolution every 4th of July.
They watched the news of the revolution in the Middle East on TV.

Revolution is also the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "revolve", meaning to turn or go around in a circle--
RPM  means revolutions per minute.
The Earth's revolution around the sun takes 365 days.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The solution to the revolution was a government resolution to lower taxes."

Note--the verb ( action word ) form of revolution is "revolt"--
The people are threatening to revolt.
"Revolt" may also be a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning an uprising or insurrection
The king sent out troops to quell the revolt.
Note # 2--"revolt" also means to disgust, or to make ill--
He found the smell of dead flowers revolting.
"The peasants are revolting." may mean a peasant uprising, or it may mean that the peasants are disgusting.
 Note # 3--a substance that can be dissolved is "soluble"--
Is this paint soluble in water?
A problem that can be solved is also "soluble"--
The problem is soluble if you first convert all of the fractions to decimals.