Is it an eye or an aye that helps you to see? Are your shoestrings laced through an islet or an eyelet? Would you send a facts or a fax? When you pass out, do you faint or do your feint? Was Tinkerbell a fairy or was she a ferry? Learn about these homonyms, plus a few more, in this article.

eye, aye
Eye can be used as either a noun or a verb. As a noun, an eye is the organ we see with. As a verb, when you eye something, you observe and watch it carefully.
The right eye of the puppy was brown, while its left eye was blue.
She began to eye the two strangers with concern.
Aye is an affirmative vote or answer.
”Aye,” he said, “you have my permission to attend the picnic."

eyelet, islet
An eyelet is a small hole, usually one for lace to go through.
The eyelet was reinforced with metal.
An islet is a very small island.
The ten passengers on the small vessel set sail for the islet.

facts, fax
Facts are truths.
The facts of the case will be presented before the judge.
A fax is image transmission technology used to transmit printed documents and/or photographs.
The teacher will fax the documents to the superintendent.

fain, feign
Fain, when used as an adverb, means gladly or willingly. When used as an adjective, it means content or willing.
Each member of the club was fain to attend the tournament.
Feign means to pretend, to represent fictitiously.
Patricia planned to feign sickness to get out of going to the event.

faint, feint
Is something is faint, it lacks brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc. If one is faint, one is about to lose consciousness.
A faint light tried to shine through the darkness of the cave.
The large amount of sugar she ingested for the glucose tolerance test caused her to faint.
A feint is a movement made to deceive an adversary. It is also an assumed appearance.
The feint of the champion chess player caused him to once again defeat his challenger.

fair, fare
Fair means free from dishonesty, bias, or injustice.
A decision that everyone felt was fair was made after a long week of discussion.
A fare is the price charged to ride in a cab, bus, or other means of public transportation. Fare is also the food or diet of a person.
Much to her dismay, Rosa realized that she did not have money for her cab fare.
The fare of the caveman was simple.

fairing, faring
A fairing is a structure pm the exterior of a boat or aircraft to help reduce drag.
With hopes of directing the rain away from his face, he placed a rigid transparent sheet on the front of his motorcycle to serve as a fairing.
Faring talks about the specific state or condition of a person or other thing.
How is the new job faring?

fairy, ferry
In folklore, a fairy is one of a class of supernatural beings, who are usually of a small size and possess magical powers which they use to intervene in human affairs.
The young lady was sure she spied a fairy flittering among the flowers in the vast garden.
A ferry is used to transport people and automobiles across bodies of water.
The tragic sinking of the ferry dominated the news for weeks.