Do These Words Actually Rhyme?

By: Sameena K. Mughal
Estimated Completion Time
2 min
Do These Words Actually Rhyme?
Image: Elisaveta Ivanova / E+ / Getty Images

About This Quiz

We have fun when we rhyme. The rhymes we create or listen to can have a beat and a flow that anyone can tap their feet to. Some rhymes are a part of a unique story that's memorable. Rhymes are fun ways to learn more words, too!

What makes rhyming so fun? Putting words together that flow in a creative way gives us a break from the mundane conversations we have on a regular basis. It's interesting to pair words together that you don't normally think of. Conceal and repeal. Quake and stake. The list goes on and on.

The best writers, rappers and poets can come up with rhymes that make us see words in ways we hadn't thought of before.  Their lively rhymes divert our brains and entertain us.

Here's your chance to test your vocabulary and your rhyming skills at the same time. Choose between two or three words and tell us if they rhyme. Discover words that you never thought did rhyme but actually do. Find words that you would think rhyme but actually don't. You will be reminded just how many exceptions there are to every spelling rule. Take this quiz and rediscover how much fun words can actually be!

An actor can do a dialogue or a monologue. Do dialogue and monologue rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The last five letters are the same and are pronounced the same. The -ue is silent in both. The -logue ending refers to different forms of speech, written and oral.

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Some debris was floating around the tree. Do tree and debris rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The -s is silent in debris. In both words, the -i sounds like an -e. Debris is a French word that came from the Old French word, debrisier, to break down.

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Do heard and beard rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The spellings can lead you to think they rhyme, but they are pronounced differently. Heard sounds like bird, and beard sounds like steered. I feared my beard would grow long and weird, but when it did, the crowd cheered for my weird beard.

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Mead and thread: Do they rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Another word whose spelling may throw you off. Mead has a long -e sound, and thread has a short -e sound. I put my cup of mead on the floor by my bed. But when I dropped my thread I hit my head on my cup of mead! That I did not need!

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Can you tell if these three words rhyme: cough, slough and trough?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The -gh letters all sound like an -f. All three words end with the same sound. Slough means shedding of skin. Trough comes from the Old English word, trog, a "wooden vessel."

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Dead, bead, deed: Do all three words rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dead doesn't rhyme with bead and deed. The -ea in dead sounds like short -e instead of long -e, like in bead and deed. The deed included a steed who was a beautiful breed. Since I can't ride a horse, where will that lead?

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With the right limb you can skim. Do limb and skim rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They both have a short -i sound. Don't let the -b in limb fool you. It's silent. My chances are slim. I can't skim, so I don't want to go out on a limb.

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I saw a nice bouquet next to my filet. Do bouquet and filet rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Two words English borrowed from French. The letters- e and -t in both words are silent. Bouquet used to mean "little wood" in French.

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I don't want to lose my dose of rose. Do lose, dose, and rose rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They look the same but don't sound the same. The -s in lose and rose sounds like a -z, and the -s in dose actually sounds like an -s. I know many pros who know their prose from their head to their toes who can tell you that a "rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

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The crew had to conduct their coup on cue. Do crew, coup, and cue rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

All three words have the same end sound even though they are spelled differently. Coup, another French word, has a silent -p. Few know what to do in a coup. It's true.

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Do although, hoe and slow rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They all have the same end sound. Another silent -gh leaves the -o a long vowel sound. Although the crow could surely move slow, he knew to go when he saw the farmer's hoe.

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Do lower and lore rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lower has two syllables and lore only has one. Lower also has a -w sound. I had to lower the leaf blower so the leaves wouldn't go on the churchgoer.

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Shimmy, stymie and slimy: Do all three words rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Shimmy doesn't rhyme with stymie and slimy. Shimmy has a short -i sound, while stymie and slimy have a long -i sound. Stymie became a part of the English language in the 19th century as a golf term referring to one player's ball blocking another player's.

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Idle and bridal: Do they rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They may be spelled differently, but they sound the same. They both have an -e sound at the end. Here's a fun fact: "Idel" in Old English means, "useless."

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Can you tell if lips and wisp rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Don't be fooled by the flipped letters at the end. They still rhyme. The phrase will-o'-the wisp refers to a flaming light that some travelers would follow, and it would get them sidetracked in a field.

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Some people scour for power: Do scour and power rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

These words have the same sound even if they have different spellings. The -w adds nothing here. Don't scour the bower for flour at this late hour.

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Do vigil and wiggle rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The -g sounds are different. In vigil, it sounds like -j, and in wiggle, it sounds like -g. Now is not the time for you to wiggle out of this vigil.

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You may hold a rein if you reign, but make sure it doesn't rain on you. Do reign, rein and rain rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

All three words have the same long -a sound. The -ei in reign and rein sound like the -a in rain. The -g is the silent, strong type again. Reign is a Middle English word that came from an Old French word, "reignier." Rein also comes from an Old French word, "rene."

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Indict, edict: Do these words rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The -c is silent in indict and pronounced in edict. Silent letters add so much don't they? In the 1300s, indict was endict. At the same time, the word edict was edit.

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Impugn, hewn, noon: Can you tell if these words rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

All three words have a long u sound. The -g is silent in impugn. At noon, the tycoon decided to impugn the statement that the raccoon had hewn the lagoon.

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You can cause a schism with scissors: Do schism and scissors rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The end sounds for these two words don't rhyme. The -m is pronounced in schism. No silent letters here. There was a schism in the mechanism from all the criticism and the cynicism.

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Gnarl and crawl: Can you tell if these words rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The end sounds for these two words don't rhyme. The -r is pronounced in gnarl, and the -w is pronounced in crawl. The coyote snarled by the gnarled tree. The squall slowed to a crawl, Then, the coyote curled into a ball by the gnarled tree.

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Do graph and laugh rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The -ph in graph sounds like an -f, and the -g and -h in laugh sound like an -f. Makes so much sense, doesn't it? Don't laugh at my graph. It's only finished by half.

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Colonel and colony: Do they rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Colonel is pronounced "kernel." Yes, it's very logical. Colony is pronounced the way it is spelled. Did you know that the word colonel is borrowed from the French word coronel? The French borrowed it the from the Italian, colonello. The word, colony comes from the Latin word, colonia. These words are well-traveled, aren't they?

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Don't get soot on your suit: Do these words rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Soot is pronounced with a short u and suit is pronounced with a long u. Yes, two Os together make a -u sound. Don't go barefoot if you're walking in soot. If you're wearing a suit, you might be better off with a boot.

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Cookies are gooey and chewy. Do gooey and chewy rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The ending sounds are the same. The -y at the end sounds like -e here. Louie gooey. Louie chewy. We gotta go!

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Corps and corpse: Do they rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The -p and -s in corps are silent. In corpse, they are pronounced. Corps and corpse both come from the Latin word, "corpus," which means "body."

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You may have to climb to get a sublime piece of thyme: Can you tell if climb, sublime and thyme sound the same?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

All three words end with the same sound. The -b in limb has pleaded the fifth and is silent. If you get some time, find some thyme. If you get some time, find a mountain. Take a climb! The view and the time will be sublime.

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Revel and devil: Do they rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Their endings are pronounced the same. The -i in devil sounds like the -e in revel. If you get to a certain level, you might get to revel. But make sure you don't fail, because the devil is in the detail!

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Do ballet and mallet rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ballet is another French loaner. The letters -e and -t in ballet are silent, and in mallet they are pronounced. I could sway to the music of ballet. Now, I'm hungry and want some shallot for my palate. But I only have a mallet!

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I saw lace at the base of the dress. Do base and lace rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The end sounds are the same. The -c in lace sounds like the -s in base. When you get to the base, turn up the bass. If you look closely at the space, you'll see all the lace.

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Do colleague and segue rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The ending vowel sound in colleague is a long e. The ending vowel sound in segue is long a. Plus, there's an extra -w sound for fun in segue. This word dates back to the 18th century and comes from Italian. Colleague comes from French and Latin.

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Porridge and storage: Do they rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Both words have the same ending sound. The -d in porridge is silent, and the -a in storage sounds like the -i in porridge. The bears had to forage for porridge. They just didn't realize there was a shortage!

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Wants and pants: Can you say if these words rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They look like they should rhyme but don't. The -a sound in wants is short, and the- a sound in pants is long. Nobody wants a house that haunts. Nobody wants ants in the pants.

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It may be true that we are through. Can you tell if true and through rhyme?
Yes
No
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Both words end in a long -u. The letters -g and -h choose to be silent and hang out. When you go through the dew to see the view, you'll find a hue that's a wonderful shade of blue.

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Elisaveta Ivanova / E+ / Getty Images