Free HESI A2 Vocabulary guide
October 2026 - Homophones Study Guide for nursing students in
Homophones sound alike and are spelled differently: principal and principle, complement and compliment, affect and effect, patience and patients. Because they sound identical, reading a sentence aloud will not help — each pair needs its own test.
The pairs that appear most
| Pair | Meanings | Hook |
|---|---|---|
| principal / principle | Chief person or main / a rule or belief | The principal is your pal |
| complement / compliment | Completes something / praise | Complement completes |
| patience / patients | Tolerance / people receiving care | Patients are people, so it is a plural |
| stationary / stationery | Not moving / paper and pens | Stationery has an e, like envelope |
| discreet / discrete | Tactful / separate and distinct | The two es in discrete are separated by the t |
| their / there / they're | Possessive / place / they are | There is a place, like here |
| to / too / two | Direction / also or excessive / the number | Too has an extra o, like an extra amount |
| bare / bear | Uncovered / to carry, or the animal | — |
| peace / piece | Calm / a portion | A piece of pie |
| weather / whether | Climate / if | — |
Homophones that turn up in clinical writing
- patients / patience — the most common of all in nursing coursework.
- oral / aural — by mouth against relating to hearing.
- ileum / ilium — part of the small intestine against part of the pelvis.
- mucus / mucous — the substance is a noun; the membrane is an adjective.
- vain / vein — conceited against a blood vessel.
- course / coarse — a programme of study against rough in texture.
A spellchecker will not catch these. Every homophone is a real word correctly spelled, so the only defence is knowing what each one means — which is exactly why the exam tests them.
Homophone, homograph, homonym
The exam occasionally names these. Homophones sound the same and are spelled differently — to and too. Homographs are spelled the same and may sound different — lead the metal against lead the verb. Homonyms are spelled and sound the same but mean different things — bank as a riverside and bank as a financial institution.
A useful way to hold them: phone is sound, graph is writing. Homophones share sound; homographs share writing.
Choosing between a pair
Worked example
Choose: The (principal / principle) reason for the delay was staffing.
- Identify the job of the word: it modifies "reason", so an adjective meaning "main" is needed.
Principleis only ever a noun — a rule or belief — so it cannot modify anything.Principalworks as both an adjective meaning main and a noun for a chief person.- Substitute to check: "the main reason for the delay" reads correctly.
Principal. When one of a pair can only be a noun, checking what the slot needs grammatically often settles the question before meaning comes into it at all.
Terms to know
- Homophone
- A word sounding like another but spelled differently and meaning something else.
- Homograph
- A word spelled like another but with a different meaning, and sometimes a different sound.
- Homonym
- A word spelled and pronounced like another with a different meaning.
- Context clue
- Information in the surrounding sentence that identifies which word is meant.
What the HESI asks most
The same core ideas appear in different wording. If you can answer these without stopping to think, you have what this section requires.
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
Work out what the slot needs grammatically, then apply the hook for that pair.
Which sentence uses the word correctly?
Substitute the definition into the sentence and see whether it still makes sense.
What is a homophone?
Words that sound alike and are spelled differently. Homographs share spelling instead.
Key points
- Homophones sound identical, so reading aloud cannot help — each pair needs its own test.
- The principal is your pal; a principle is a rule.
- Patients are people; patience is what you need with them.
- A complement completes; a compliment praises.
- Homophones share sound, homographs share spelling, homonyms share both.
Review quiz
4 questions on this topic, each with the reasoning worked through. Pick an answer to see how it went, or open the explanation straight away.
-
Question 1 of 4
Which sentence is correct?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. The principal reason for the change was patient safety.
Principalis the adjective meaning main, andpatient safetyrefers to the safety of the people receiving care.Principleis only ever a noun meaning a rule, andpatienceis the quality of being tolerant. -
Question 2 of 4
Choose the correct word:
The consultant paid her a ____ on the quality of her documentation.Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. compliment
Praise is a
complimentwith an i. Acomplementcompletes something — as a full staffing complement does — and the remaining two are simply misspellings of either word. -
Question 3 of 4
Which sentence uses
stationaryandstationerycorrectly?Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. The trolley remained stationary while she collected stationery from the cupboard.
A trolley that is not moving is
stationarywith an a, while paper and pens arestationerywith an e — like envelope. Only the second choice gets both slots the right way round. -
Question 4 of 4
What is the difference between a homophone and a homograph?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Homophones share sound; homographs share spelling.
Phone means sound and graph means writing, which is the whole distinction:
toandtooare homophones, whileleadthe metal andleadthe verb are homographs. Neither category is restricted to a particular part of speech.
Put this HESI topic into practice
Build a set on homophones and use the rationale on every question to reinforce what you just reviewed.
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