The two easiest ways to improve your spelling are to read a lot and to use a dictionary when you’re uncertain. Whether online or in print, the dictionary is much more reliable than computer and smartphone spell-checking functions, which often miss homophone errors (two words that sound alike).

See if you can spot what’s wrong with the following sentence.

Today, when tourists flock to Abbey Road studios, there probably aware that the Beatles made they’re famous album their in 1969.

Were you confused by the misspelled homophones? A homophone is a word that sounds like another word but is spelled differently. Below are the homophones correctly placed.

Today, when tourists flock to Abbey Road studios, they’re probably aware that the Beatles made their famous album there in 1968.

Some other commonly misspelled homophones are:

accept/except

He accepted all of the awards except the lifetime achievement award, which he insisted should go to his mentor.

affect/effect

Perhaps the trickiest of all homophones.

Generally, affect is used as a verb, and effect is used as a noun.

The golfer leaned to try to affect the flight of the ball, but his body language had no effect.

lead/led

The tour guide led us to the entrance of the lead mine, but we weren’t allowed in.

lessen/lesson

The physics lesson was on how opposite forces lessen velocity.

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sole/soul

The sole job of a good poet is to lay bare the human soul.

stationary/stationery

Janice perfected her calligraphy technique by writing on stationery while riding on her stationary bike.

then/than

Then there was nothing left to say other than “thank you.”

too/to/two

The two hikers were traveling to Brixton too, so we gave them a ride.

weather/whether

We checked the news to see whether the weather would be nice for the beach.

weight/wait

The weightlifter waited for his partner to add more weight for the next set.

who’s/whose

Ahmed texted to see whose car we are taking and who’s driving.

you’re/your

You’re the only one who can plan your schedule.

One way to improve your spelling is just to be aware of which words tend to be challenging. Here are some more commonly misspelled words for you to review.