moraine, murrain

Moraine or moraine means a piece of ground scattered with rocks and gravel, left by a retreating glacier--
Wear sturdy shoes or boots, because we have to walk across a moraine.
A glacier left this moraine after the last ice age.

Murrain or murrain ( almost rhymes with moraine ) means a disease that infects cattle--
Ancient sorcerers threatened their neighbors with a murrain that would kill their cows.
Anthrax is a well-known murrain.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"Some of the cows hurt their hooves crossing a moraine; we'll have to watch for signs of a murrain among them."

cycle, sickle

Cycle or cycle means a set of events or stages that recur or repeat, literally or figuratively--
He wrote a long poem about the cycle of the seasons.
He seemed trapped in a cycle of bad behavior and remorse.
Cycle is sometimes used to refer to one event in a series--
Add the fabric softener to the rinse cycle.

Cycle may also be a short form of bicycle or motorcycle--
He needs a new tire for his cycle.
Cycle may also mean to travel by bicycle--
We are going to cycle down to the lake tomorrow.
We could walk, but we'll get there faster if we cycle.

Sickle or sickle means a farm implement used to reap crops by hand, shaped like a letter "c" with a handle--
The hammer and sickle formed the emblem of the Soviet Union.
It once took days to reap crops with a sickle.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We want to do a painting of the cycle of the seasons, and were thinking of a sickle to represent Summer."

coal, cole

Coal or coal means the mineral dug from a mine and burned for fuel--
People all over the country watched  the rescue of the men trapped in a coal mine.
Some electric power plants burn coal.

Cole or cole ( rhymes with coal ) means cabbage--
We are making potato salad and cole slaw for the party.
Cole may mean any vegetable that resembles a cabbage.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The coal miners had a picnic, with cole slaw and barbecue."

Note--"kohl" ( rhymes with coal ) means a brown powder used as eye shadow--
Her eyes looked smoky, from the kohl she used as eye shadow.
Note # 2 --"coal" is sometimes a verb ( action word ), meaning to load coal--
They stopped to coal the ship.
The past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "coal", the verb, is "coaled"--
They coaled the ship before leaving the harbor.
Not to be confused with "cold", meaning very chilly--
It's cold outside; wear your mittens.

traffic, traffick

Traffic or traffic means the movement of vehicles or people through a space or along a street--
There was a lot of traffic on the way home.
Pedestrian traffic will move over this bridge; cars will go under it.
We got stuck in a traffic jam.

Traffick or traffick ( rhymes with traffic ) means smuggling or dealing in illicit cargo or goods--
They are have asked us to meet with them to discuss the traffick in illegal arms.
The government is hoping to stop the drug traffick at the border.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"With all the traffic at the border, it is difficult to detect an attempt to traffick in drugs or weapons."

Note--"traffick" is a verb ( action word ), with the regular verb forms--
He trafficks; they traffick; they are trafficking; they trafficked.

forbid, forebode, forbidding, foreboding

Forbid or forbid means to prohibit; to refuse to allow something--
He's grounded. We want him to go with us, but his parents forbid it.
He forbid the children playing in his office.
I forbid you to throw things!

Forebode or forebode means to predict or portend, especially something evil or disastrous--
The gloomy weather seemed to forebode an unhappy afternoon.
Some people still believe that owls forebode bad luck.

Forbidding or forbidding is a participle of "forbid", meaning to prohibit or refuse to allow--
The management is now forbidding all coffee breaks.
They are thinking of forbidding smoking on the patio.

Forbidding or forbidding also means hostile or sinister--
The gloomy old house had a forbidding aspect.
The deserted town seemed forbidding in the moonlight.

Foreboding or foreboding means a presentiment of evil or catastrophe--
Every noise frightened her; she couldn't shake a feeling of foreboding.
The accident later seemed a foreboding of worse things to come.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"It was no use forbidding them to go in the forbidding old house; even an eerie feeling of foreboding didn't stop them."
"If the signs forebode evil, the old woman will forbid the trip they've planned."

Note--"forbidden" is an adjective ( describes a thing or idea ), meaning prohibited, or not allowed--
The first humans were banished from paradise because they ate the forbidden fruit.
Running in the halls is forbidden.
Note # 2--"forbade" is a past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "forbid"--
Yesterday his parents forbade him going to the movies.
The more commonly used past tense of "forbid" is simply "forbid"--
Yesterday his parents forbid him going to the movies.

a cute, acute

A cute or a cute ( two words ) means one ( a ) person or item that is "cute", meaning charming or pretty--
I saw a cute baby dress in the store window.
What a cute puppy!
Cute may mean coy or affected--
He just gave me a cute answer, and now I'm even more angry.

Acute or acute ( one word ) means sharp or ending in a point, literally, or sharp, severe or intense, figuratively--
This street comes to an acute angle at the end; it's hard to make a turn there.
That was an acute perception; small details can be important.
He has an acute case of appendicitis.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"I want a cute gift that will cheer up a child with an acute case of laryngitis."

Note--"astute" means clever or wise, or having a real understanding--
He was an astute judge of character, and never hired anyone who wasn't an asset to the firm.

exasperate, exacerbate

Exasperate or exasperate means to wear out the patience of; to infuriate--
When the child failed to exasperate her, he stopped whining and became quiet.
Doesn't that barking dog exasperate you?

Exacerbate or exacerbate means to make worse or to aggravate, said of a disease or condition--
The doctor said that smoking would exacerbate his symptoms.
He had to interfere, just to exacerbate the problem.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The mother's yelling only served to exacerbate the situation; she could exasperate a saint."