Teachers, Spelling Test Buddy just shipped one of our most-requested features: Homographs. You can now choose the correct pronunciation for 162 common English homographs, so the word your students hear on a test matches the meaning you’re actually teaching.
If you’ve ever assigned the word lead and cringed as the test read it aloud as the soft gray metal when you meant to lead a group, this one’s for you.
What’s a homograph, and why does pronunciation matter?
A homograph is a word that’s spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning—and often a different pronunciation. English is full of them:
- lead — The guide will lead us through the museum. (/liːd/) vs. Old pipes were sometimes made of lead. (/lɛd/)
- read — Please read this out loud. (/riːd/) vs. I read it yesterday. (/rɛd/)
- tear — A tear rolled down her cheek. (/tɪr/) vs. Don’t tear the paper. (/tɛr/)
- wind — The wind is strong today. (/wɪnd/) vs. Wind the clock before bed. (/waɪnd/)
Because our tests read each word aloud, the pronunciation carries the meaning. If the audio says the wrong one, students can be confused about which word they’re being asked to spell even when the spelling is identical. For English learners and younger students especially, hearing the right pronunciation is the whole point.
How it works
When you add or edit a word that happens to be a homograph, Spelling Test Buddy now recognizes it and shows you the available pronunciations in the Edit panel for that word. Each option includes:
- The word in IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet), so you can see the difference at a glance
- An example sentence that uses the word with that meaning
- A Pronunciation button to hear the word on its own
- A Sentence button to hear it in context
Just select the pronunciation you want, and Save. From then on, that’s how the word will sound everywhere in Spelling Test Buddy - on practice tests, digital tests, games, and Teach Me.
We’ve covered 162 of the most common homographs in US English, so you can trust that the words your students hear match the words you meant.
Why we built this
This feature came straight from teacher feedback. Over and over, educators told us the same thing: “The spelling is right, but the word is being read the wrong way.” A word like produce, object, content, or desert can flip meaning entirely depending on which syllable is stressed, and a mismatched read-aloud undermines an otherwise great word list.
Homographs also happen to be one of the trickiest concepts in English spelling and reading. If you’d like a refresher on how they fit alongside homonyms and homophones, we wrote about it here: Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, and Spelling.
Try it today
Homographs are available now for all teachers. Open any word list, add a word like lead, bow, close, or minute, expand the Edit panel for those words, and pick the pronunciation that fits your lesson.
Give your students the right pronunciation, every time
Try Spelling Test BuddyHear a word that still sounds off? There’s a Let us know link right in the pronunciation panel, or you can email me directly. We’re always listening.