sear, sere, seer

Sear or sear means means to burn or scorch the surface of something--
She put the steak on the grill and turned it over quickly, to sear it.
Sear the meat to seal in the juices.

Sere or sere ( rhymes with sear ) means means dry or withered, as dry land with dead grass or plants--
The drought left the garden sere and depressing to look at.
The landscape was sere and deserted looking; it hadn't rained in months.

Seer or seer ( rhymes with see her ) means a psychic or clairvoyant--
He gained a reputation as a seer by correctly predicting the outcome of the election.
She goes every week to a seer, convinced that the woman can predict the future.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The seer correctly predicted that the heat wave would sear the land, leaving everything withered and sere."

Note--"Sears", always capitalized, means the department store--
Let's stop at the Sears store.
"sears", without the capital letter, is the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of "sear"--
She sears the steaks on the grill before broiling them.
Not to be confused with "seers", meaning more than one psychic--
The seers disagreed about the future.

bow, bough, bow, beau

Bow or bow, when pronounced to rhyme with "go" means a decorative or looped knot made in a string or ribbon--
She tried hard to make the bow on the package look pretty.
If you tie your shoelaces in a bow, you'll be able to untie them easily.

Beau or beau ( rhymes with go ) is an old-fashioned word for boyfriend or suitor--
Her grandmother was so old-fashioned that she still asked after her beau.
They had been seen together many times; everyone assumed he was her beau.

Bow or bow, when pronounced to rhyme with "now", means a bend at the waist, to show submission to authority, or thanks, as to an audience--
In England, it is still the custom to bow to the queen.
The audience cheered when he came onstage to take another bow.
Bow may also mean to bend one's neck, usually called to "bow the head"--
On Sunday, he would bow his head through the entire service.

Bough or bough ( rhymes with now ) means a small branch of a tree--
"When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall..."
They tied decorations to each bough of the tree.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Her beau greeted her with a bow, and held out a bough of holly tied with a red bow."

Note--"bow" ( rhymes with go ) is also the arched piece of wood used to shoot an arrow or play a stringed instrument--
Robin Hood was famous for his skill with a bow and arrow.
Rosin up the bow and play us a tune.
Note # 2--"bow" ( rhymes with "now" ) also means the forward part of a ship--
The ship ran aground and the bow hit the pier.

toxin, tocsin

Toxin or toxin means a harmful or dangerous substance; a poison--
The government is still trying to decide if the new additive should be considered a toxin.
Lead was removed from gasoline because it can be an environmental toxin.

Tocsin or tocsin ( rhymes with toxin ) means an alarm or siren, the kind you might hear on an ambulance--
They all ran at the sound of the tocsin.
The noise of the tocsin woke them up.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"They workers sounded the tocsin to warn the populace of a toxin escaping from the factory."

Note--"toxic" describes something poisonous--
Make sure the cabinet with the toxic chemicals in it is locked.

forward, foreword

Forward or forward means toward the front or goal, or in advance, physically--
All volunteers please step forward.
They moved forward cautiously, because it was dark.
Figuratively, forward is an old-fashioned way of saying impertinent or presumptuous--
Her grandmother thought the young man was too forward.
Forward also means to send on a letter or email to an alternate destination--
We are moving, so we need to ask the post office to forward the mail.
The technical help center told her to forward the email to them.
Forward is also a position on a sports team--
He was a forward, and the team depended on him.

Foreword or foreword means an introductory passage in the front of a book, article, or essay--
The foreword was written by a very popular author.
Some people always skip the foreword and introduction, and go straight to the book.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The foreword of this article calls upon anyone with information about the incident to step forward."

Note--"forewarn" means to tell someone of trouble brewing, or to warn in advance--
"Forewarned is forearmed" means that if you know about trouble that might happen, you will be ready to fight it, because you will be "armed" in advance.
Not to be confused  with "forearm",  meaning your arm from the elbow to the wrist--
He has a tattoo on his right forearm.

Note # 2--"forworn" or "foreworn" are archaic ( no longer in use ) ways of saying tired or exhausted--
Forsooth, I am foreworn.

Note # 3--"forwards" is the third person singular ( he, she, it form ) of the verb "forward", meaning to send on the mail--
The post office forwards mail at no charge for a year.
"Forwards" may also mean moving toward the front--
In this dance, we go backwards and forwards.
"Forwards" may also be the plural ( more than one ) of "forward", the noun ( thing or idea)--
The forwards on the team met to discuss strategy.

a lot, allot

A lot or a lot means a large quantity--
We have a lot of homework to do.
He went to an auction and bid on a lot of chairs.
A lot may also mean an unimproved piece of land, without a home or building on it--
There is a lot for sale a few miles away. They are thinking of buying it and building a new home.
There is a lot on the corner that can be used for  parking.

Allot or allot ( rhymes with a lot ) means to portion out or distribute something--
The company will allot two uniforms to each employee.
The voters want the town council to allot money for a new bridge.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We can't allot a lot of money for this project."

Note--"Lot" is  man's name, famous from the biblical story--
Lot survived the destruction of Sodom.
Note # 2--"allotment" means a share or portion, usually of something regularly divided into portions--
Some servicemen have the military send an allotment to their families.
Note # 3--"lot" may also be used figuratively, to mean one's fate or the circumstances of one's life--
Their lot was hard, but they rarely complained.
Note # 4--"lots" means more than one lot--
There are two vacant lots nearby.
Lots is also slang for a large quantity --
There are lots of sandwiches. Would you like one?
To "cast lots" means to throw dice or gamble--
"... and for my vesture they cast lots."

echo, eco-

Echo or echo means the sound you may hear if you yell into a canyon or ravine--a faint "repeat" of what you yelled, almost like one of those toys that repeats what you say--
 "...my echo, my shadow, and me..."
If you stand on the edge of the canyon and yell, you may hear an echo.

Eco- or eco- is a prefix ( a word "part" that is added to the beginning of a word ). Eco- is often added to existing words to mean "green", or non-polluting and earth-friendly--
He set up a website to promote a new line of eco-products.
The FBI uncovered an eco-terrorism plot.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The author of the weekly environmental report repeated all of the news in eco-terms, like a green echo."

Note--"echolocation" is how bats and some sea creatures find their way when they can't see. They make noises, and listen for the "echo". They can tell where things are because they can hear where the "echo" comes from--
Bats find their way by echolocation.

Note # 2--"Ecko" is the name of a manufacturer of kitchen gadgets, always capitalized--
He bought an Ecko kitchen strainer.

bridal, bridle

Bridal or bridal describes something connected to a woman on her wedding day, or connected to a bride--
She wore a bridal veil during the ceremony.
Her bridal trousseau is very chic.

Bridle or bridle ( rhymes with bridal ) means a part of a horse's harness, usually the part that goes through its mouth and ends in a set of reins--
Don't pull too hard on the bridle. It may upset the horse.
The colt isn't used to the bridle yet.
Bridle may also be used in a figurative way, to mean restrain or check--
His boss tried to get him to bridle his ambition.
Bridle may also mean to show resentment by making an upward movement of the head or stiffening the neck--
Her comments made him bridle with resentment.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Her bridal gown had floral streamers that looked a bit like the decorated bridle a horse might wear in a parade."