Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings and different meanings.
So simply put, homophones are words that sound the same but look different and have different meanings.

An easy way to remember this is to remember that the prefix ‘homo’ means the same and the suffix ‘phone’ means sound.

For example:

➜ She ate a pear. 🍐

➜ He has a new pair of socks. 🧦

Pear and pair are homophones because they sound the same but have different spellings and different meanings.

In the first sentence, ‘pear’ refers to the fruit, and in the second sentence, ‘pair’ refers to a set of two things.

Sentence examples: 

The words bear and bare sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. The word bear is a noun; it refers to the mammal. The word bare is a verb; it means to uncover something.

➜ I saw a brown bear at the zoo. 🐻

➜ The dog bares its teeth when it is angry. 🦷

The words tail and tale sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. The word tail is a noun; it refers to the extended rear end of some animals.

➜ I like to read children’s tales. 📕

➜ The fox has a long tail. 🦊

The words hole and whole sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. The word hole is a noun; it refers to a hollow space on a surface. The word whole is an adjective; it means all of or the entirety.

➜ There is a hole in the bag. 🕳

➜ Tina ate the whole pizza. 🍕