legion, lesion

Legion or legion ( pronounced lee-jun ) means a division of the army, or a large body of troops or people--
"Our name is legion, for we are many..."
He ran away to join the foreign legion, supposedly.

Lesion or lesion ( pronounced lee-zhun ) means a kind of sore or scab--
He still has a lesion on his leg from the accident.
This lesion may not leave a scar. We'll have to wait to find out.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He had a lesion on his arm from an injury he got fighting in the foreign legion."

Note--the "American Legion" is the name of a specific group of people, so it is capitalized--
The veteran joined the American Legion. He enjoys the company of other veterans.
Note # 2--a "legionary" is a member of a legion; an individual soldier. "Legionnaire" is an alternative form of "legionary"--
Legionnaire's disease is still a famous incident in Philadelphia's history.

base, bass, bass

Base or base means the support on which something rests--
The base of the trophy is made of wood.
Base is also a verb, meaning to use as support--
He might base his suspicions on her odd tone of voice.
Base or base also means the place or spot used as a center of activity, such as military operations--
They set up a base at the foot of the mountain.
The New York office was the base for sales operations.

Base also is an old-fashioned way of saying low, meaning a nasty person or nasty behavior--
The knight called him a base varlet and challenged him to a combat.

Bass or bass ( pronounced to rhyme with base ) means having a low tone or sound--
"Mama sang bass, Daddy sang tenor..."
The bass speaker on the stereo is making a funny noise.
He plays the bass fiddle in a combo.
Bass also means a low-pitched voice or instrument--
This part was written for a bass, not a baritone.

Bass or bass ( pronounced to rhyme with glass ) is the name of a kind of fish--
Look, there's a show on TV about bass fishing.
They went fishing and caught some trout and some bass.

Now that you know that, you can say--
The bass instruments sounded odd, so he looked in the base of the cabinet and found that the cat had used it to hide a bass he had caught in the stream."

Note--the plural ( more than one ) form of "base" is "bases"--
He hit the ball out of the park and ran the bases slowly.
Note # 2--"basis" means  a foundation, used figuratively--
Their old school days were the basis of a long friendship.
Not to be confused with the phrase "base is"--
The base is crumbling ; we will need to repair it.
The plural of "basis" is sometimes written "bases" ( pronounced base-eeze ), but many people find this affected and avoid it by using another word, like foundations, or a different sentence structure.
Note # 3--the plural of "bass" is "bass".
The plural of "bass" is also "bass", no need to remember, they are the same, singular or plural.
"Basses" would mean more than one kind or species of bass, not more than one fish.

marshal, martial

Marshal or marshal means a type of military or law enforcement officer--
The marshal is still the law enforcement authority in some communities.
The U.S. federal government doesn't have a sheriff, but it does have a marshal service.
Marshal is also a verb ( action word ) meaning to group or arrange one's forces or resources--
Make sure to marshal your facts before beginning an argument.
The spectators watched him marshal the troops for review.

Martial or martial ( rhymes with marshal ) describes something related to or reminiscent of the military or war--
The peaked cap he wore gave him a martial aspect.
The president considered declaring martial law in force during the emergency.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The parade marshal arranged the bands and troops so that onlookers heard a medley of martial airs."

Note--not to be confused with "marital", meaning having to do with marriage or a married couple---
The police came to the door to investigate the loud marital dispute.

Note # 2--"Marshall", capitalized, is a proper name--the name of a specific person or place--
The Marshall plan helped  Europe recover from the war.

tear, tare, tear, tier

Tear or tear ( pronounced to rhyme with hair ) means to rend in pieces or pull apart--
Did you tear your shirt? You'll have to change.
Don't tear up the paper. I haven't read it yet.
Tear may also be used as a noun ( thing or idea ), meaning a rent or hole in something--
There's a tear in your shirt.

Tare or tare ( also rhymes with hair ) means the weight of a package containing goods which are to be sold by weight--
He subtracted the tare before suggesting a price.
The tare weighs ten pounds, so there are fifty pounds of vegetables.

Tear or tear ( pronounced to rhyme with dear ) means a drop of water that flows from the eye--
She said she wasn't upset, but there was a tear in her eye.
He never sheds a tear, even when he's hurt.

Tier or tier ( also rhymes with dear ) means one of a set or series of ranks or levels, as of seats in a theater--
Our seats are on the third tier.
You will be able to see better from the first or second tier.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He couldn't reach the top tier of cartons to check the tare, but he made a tear in the cardboard as a mark, instead of shedding a tear over it."

Note--"tare" is also the name of a plant or weed--
"an enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat..."

confident, confidant

Confident or confident means self-assured; having a strong belief in one's abilities or the outcome of a course of action--
He was confident that he would pass the test.
He is socially confident, and enjoys meeting new people.

Confidant or confidant ( sometimes spelled confidante when used to mean a female ) is a friend to whom one would tell one's secrets--
Her sister was a close friend and confidant, always ready to listen.
She trusted her confidant with all of her secrets.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He was quite confident that his confidant was trustworthy."

Note--"confidence" may mean the feeling of being self-assured or sure of an outcome--
His employer had confidence in the young man's abilities.
"Confidence" also means a secret, or a relationship of trust--
He took his associate into his confidence.
She would never betray a confidence.
Note # 2--a "confidence man" is a con artist--someone who perpetrates fraud or financial schemes on individuals by gaining their trust--
When he told the woman he had found some money, she knew that he was a confidence man.
Not to be confused with a "confidente", an old-fashioned type of settee or sofa. The plural ( more than one ) is "confidentes"--
They bid on two old confidentes at the antique auction.
"Confidants" or "confidantes" would be the plural form of "confidant" or "confidante"--
They were lifelong confidants.

turn, tern

Turn or turn means means to move to face right or left, or to revolve--
Make a right turn at the corner.
Turn the car around, this is a one-way street.
To turn something on or off means to flip the switch to power a device or to shut it down--
Turn on the light; it's dark.
To turn something up or down means to increase or decrease volume, speed, or power--
Turn down the radio; it's loud.
Turn up the heat; it's cold.

Tern or tern ( rhymes with turn ) means a sea bird, something like a gull--
You can see the tern feeding its young from here.
A tern landed on the rail of the ship.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"If you turn to your right you will see a tern flying by."

Note--a "turnover" ( one word ) is a kind of pastry--
She made turnovers for dessert,.
"Turnover" ( one word ) also means the frequency of replacing goods or employees--
Employee turnover is too high--maybe we're not paying them enough.
To "turn over" ( two words ) means to roll  yourself , or a person or thing until the top side is down, or to pick something up and put it back with the other side up--
He doesn't know how to turn over a record; being too young to remember LP's.
She forgot to turn over, so she was sunburned on one side.
"Overturn" means to flip over on its back or side--
She was afraid they would overturn the cart.
"Overturn" also means to change an official decision--
The judges were called on to overturn the decision, and declare him the winner.
Note # 2--"in turn" ( two words ) means in order or sequence--
She shook hands with each of them in turn.
Not to be confused with "intern" ( one word ), meaning a learning or practicing employee or staff member, often unpaid--
She is an intern at a local publishing house.
Intern  means a medical student to most people, but there are other interns.
Note # 3--"turn in" most commonly means to deliver assigned work--
Make sure to turn in your papers by Friday.
"Turn in" is also an informal phrase meaning go to sleep--
Well, I think we'll turn in for the night.
Not to be confused with "turning", meaning revolving or moving to face right or left--
He was turning at the corner when he hit the tree.
"Turn into" usually involves magic--
She kissed a toad, hoping he would turn into a prince.
Not to be confused with "turn into", meaning to enter by moving to face right or left--
Go down the street and turn into the lot.
Note # 4--"terne" ( rhymes with turn ) is an alloy of lead and tin--
This will be plated with terne, so it will be more resistant to rust.

ball, bawl

Ball or ball means the spherical or globe-shaped object used in sports and games--
The game ended when the ball landed on the roof.
"Take me out to the ball game..."

Ball is also an old-fashioned term for a formal dance--
"... all of the ladies attending the ball..."
"After the ball is over, after the break of day..."

Bawl or bawl ( rhymes with ball ) means to make loud crying or sobbing noises--
Don't tease the baby; he'll start to bawl.
I wish the baby wouldn't bawl like that whenever he gets upset about something.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The baby started to bawl when he lost his ball."

Note--not to be confused with "brawl", meaning a fistfight involving two or more people--
The police were summoned to break up the brawl.