auger, augur

Auger or auger means a tool used for boring,  like a drill bit--
He needs an auger to bore the hole.
A handle is used to turn the auger.

Augur or augur ( rhymes with auger ) means to predict or foretell the future, as from signs or omens--
These sales figures augur a good year, financially.
A new job is an augur of other new prospects.
Augur also means the Ancient Roman official in charge of foretelling the future--
The augur sometimes read the entrails of a bird.
They consulted an augur before deciding what to do.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He broke his auger the first thing this morning, which later seemed an augur of his day."

eruption, irruption

Eruption or eruption means the explosion of ash and lava that comes from a volcano--
Everyone on the west coast still remembers the eruption of Mount Saint Helens.
The most famous volcanic eruption was Vesuvius, which left behind Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Eruption may be used figuratively, as a violent outburst--
His patience finally ended in an eruption of shouting and emotion.

Irruption or irruption ( rhymes with eruption ) means a sudden or violent invasion or breaking in--
The meeting ended with an irruption by the protesters from outside the building.
Irruption may also mean a sudden burst of noise or activity by a crowd of people--
The peaceful crowd gave way to a violent irruption.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"News of the volcanic eruption was cut off by the irruption of a group trying to get to the news cameras."

Note--either "eruption" or "irruption "  might mean a violent outburst from a crowd.
Only "eruption" means an explosion by a volcano, spewing ash or lava.
Only "irruption" means a noisy invasion or interruption.

putty, puttee

Putty or putty means a paste used to seal cracks or seams, or to fill holes, in walls, wood, or pipes--
He went to the hardware store to buy some putty.
He wants some putty to fill the holes before he paints the wall.
Putty may be used to describe a person--
He was putty in her hands.
Putty may also mean to fill a crack or hole, as a verb ( action word )--
He'll need to putty those holes before he paints.

Puttee or puttee ( rhymes with putty ) means a long strip of cloth wound around the lower leg, as worn by a WWI soldier, or some other military personnel or sportsmen--
He is cutting up cloth to make a new puttee.
The puttee on his left leg has a hole in it.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"He covered the stain on his puttee with some putty, and the sergeant didn't notice it."

Note--"putti" ( poo tee ) is the plural ( more than one ) of "putto", meaning a sort of cherub or baby angel often seen in old paintings or artworks--
The putti in this painting were added at a later date.
Note # 2--"puttees" is the plural ( more than one ) form of "puttee"--
His puttees came loose, and he tripped over them.
"Putties" is the third person singular ( he, she, it ) form of the verb ( action word ) "putty", meaning to fill a hole or crack with putty--
If he putties this hole, you won't notice the damage.

laid, lade

Laid or laid is a past or present participle of "lay", meaning to put or place in a position of rest, or to set down, literally or figuratively--
He laid his head on the pillow and fell asleep.
He died on Monday and was laid to rest on Thursday.
He laid his case before the judge.

Lade or lade ( rhymes with laid ) means to load something with, or to burden someone with--
The manufacturer will have its own ship to lade with this cargo.
He resisted the urge to lade her with his problems.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The order is to lade the ship with the cargo, including what has been laid away in the warehouse."
"He didn't want to lade them with his worries, so he laid his feelings aside."

Note--you may encounter "lade" most often in "bill of lading"--
The bill of lading should be attached to each crate.
"Lade" is also the root of "laden"--
His worried face seemed laden with care.

worst, wurst

Worst or worst is the superlative ( most ) form of "bad" ( bad, worse, worst ) --
This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

Wurst or wurst ( rhymes with worst ) means a sausage--
Their grandmother still makes wurst at home.
They have a really good beef wurst.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"This is the worst wurst I have ever tasted."

Note--"wurst" is originally a German word, and is often combined with other words--
I would like a liverwurst sandwich.
We are having bratwurst for dinner.

bite, byte

Bite or bite means to sink the teeth into--
Does the dog bite?
Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Bite may also mean the act of sinking the teeth into--
His bark is worse than his bite.
Bite may also mean a taste--
Try a bite of this pizza.
Bite may mean something to eat, informally--
Let's stop for a bite.
Bite may mean to take a piece from, in order to reduce the size of--
Let's take a bite out of crime.
Bite also means how the upper and lower teeth match--
The dentist said he needs braces to fix his bite.

Byte or byte ( rhymes with bite ) is combined from "binary unit", meaning a unit of information as used or stored by a computer, equal to one digit or character--
Eight bits make a byte, just as eight bits make a dollar.
The computer stores information by the byte.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Each byte of information we can keep secure helps to take a bite out of hacking and computer fraud."

mock, mach

Mock or mock means to ridicule or make fun of--
His classmates would often mock his studious attitude.
Mock also describes something imitation--
We are having mock turtle soup for dinner.
She wants a mock turtleneck sweater for her birthday.

Mach or mach ( rhymes with mock ) means the speed of sound--
The first pilot to break the sound barrier flew faster than mach 1, or the speed of sound.
Mach 1 is about 760 miles per hour.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"It later seemed foolish to mock the first attempts to fly faster than mach 1."