1. clothes, cloth, clothing
clothes統(tǒng)指各種衣服，謂語動詞永遠是復數(shù)；cloth指布，為不可數(shù)名詞；clothing 服裝的總稱，指一件衣服用a piece of, an article of 。
2. incident, accident
incident指小事件，accident指不幸的事故。如：He was killed in the accident.
3. amount, number
amount后接不可數(shù)名詞， number后接可數(shù)名詞，如：a number of students。
4. family, house, home
home 指家，包括住處和家人，house指房子、住宅，family指家庭成員，如：My family is a happy one.
5. sound, voice, noise
sound指自然界各種各樣的聲音，voice指人的嗓音，noise指噪音，如：I hate the loud noise outside.
6. photo, picture, drawing
photo指用照相機拍攝的照片，picture可指相片、圖片、電影片，drawing指畫的畫，如：Let's go and see a good picture.
7. vocabulary, word
vocabulary指詞匯，一個人擁有的單詞量；word指具體的單詞。如：He has a large vocabulary.
8. population, people
population指人口、人數(shù)，people指具體的人，如：
9. weather, climate
weather指一天內具體的天氣狀況，climate指長期的氣候狀況，如：The climate here is not good for you.
10. road, street, path, way
road指具體的公路、馬路，street指街道，path指小路、小徑，way指道路、途徑。如：take this road; in the street; show me the way to the museum.
11. course, subject
course指課程（可包括多門科目），subject指科目（具體的學科），如：a summer course。
12. custom, habit
custom指傳統(tǒng)風俗、習俗，也可指生活習慣，后接to do；habit指生活習慣，習慣成自然，后接of doing。 如：I've got the habit of drinking a lot.
13. cause, reason
cause 指造成某一事實或現(xiàn)象的直接原因，后接of sth./doing sth.；reason用來解釋某種現(xiàn)象或結果的理由，后接for sth./doing sth.， 如：the reason for being late。
14. exercise, exercises, practice
exercise指運動、鍛煉（不可數(shù)），exercises指練習（可數(shù)），practice指（反復做的）練習。如：Practice makes perfect.
15. class, lesson
作“課”解時，兩者可以替換；指課文用lesson，指班級或全體學生用class，如：lesson 6; class 5。
16. speech, talk, lecture
speech指在公共場所所做的經(jīng)過準備的較正式的演說，talk指日常生活中的一般的談話、講話，lecture指學術性的演講、講課，如：a series of lecture on…
17. officer, official
officer指部隊的軍官，official指政府官員，如：an army officer 。
18. work, job
二者均指工作，work不可數(shù)，job可數(shù)，如：a good job。
19. couple, pair
couple主要指人或動物，pair多指由兩部分組成的東西，如：a pair of trousers。
20. country, nation, state, land
country側重指版圖、疆域，nation指人民、國民、民族，state側重指政府、政體，land指國土、國家。如：The whole nation was sad at the news.
21. cook, cooker
cook指廚師，cooker指廚具，如：He is a good cook.
22. damage, damages
damage是不可數(shù)名詞，指損害、損失；damages為復數(shù)形式，指賠償金，如：$900 damages。
23. police, policeman
police是警察的總稱，后接復數(shù)謂語動詞；policeman 指某個具體的警察。如：The police are questioning everyone in the house.
24. problem, question
problem常和困難聯(lián)系，前面的動詞常為think about, solve, raise；question常和疑問聯(lián)系，多和ask, answer連用。
25. man, a man
man指人類，a man指一個男人。如：Man will conquer nature.
26. chick, chicken
二者均可指小雞，chicken還可以當雞肉，如：The chicken is delicious.
27. telegram, telegraph
當“電報”解時，telegram指具體的，telegraph指抽象的，如：a telegram, by telegraph。
28. trip, journey, travel, voyage
travel是最常用的，trip指短期的旅途，journey指稍長的旅途，voyage指海上航行，如：a three-day trip。
29. sport, game
sport多指戶外的游戲或娛樂活動，如打球、游泳、打獵、賽馬等；game指決定勝負的游戲，通常有一套規(guī)則。如：His favorite sport is swimming.
30. price, prize
price指價格，prize指獎、獎品、獎金，如：win the first prize The price is high/low.
31. a number of, the number of
a number of指“許多”，謂語動詞用復數(shù)。the number of指“…的數(shù)目”，謂語動詞用單數(shù)。如：The number of students is increasing.
32. in front of, in the front of
in front of指范圍外的前面，in the front of指范圍內的前面，如：In the front of the room sits a boy.
33. of the day, of a day
of the day指每一天的、當時的、當代的，of a day指暫時的、不長久的，如：a famous scientist of the day。
34. three of us, the three of us
three of us我們（不止三個）中的三個，the three of us我們三個（就三個人）。如：The three of us---Tom, Jack and I went to the cinema.
35. by bus, on the bus
by bus表手段、方式，不用冠詞；on the bus表范圍。如：They went there by bus.
36. for a moment, for the moment
for a moment “片刻、一會兒”，for the moment“暫時、一時”，如：Thinking for a moment, he agreed.
37. next year, the next year
next year將來時間狀語，the next year過去將來時間狀語，如：He said he would go abroad the next year.
38. more than a year, more than one year
more than a year“一年多”，more than one year“超過一年”（兩年或三年等）
39. take advice, take the(one’s) advice
take advice“征求意見”，take the advice“接受忠告”，如：He refused to take the advice and failed again.
40. take air, take the air
take air“傳播、走漏”，take the air“到戶外去、散步”，如：We take the air every day.
41. in a word, in words
in a word“總之、一句話”， in words“口頭上”，如：In a word, you are right.
42. in place of, in the place of
in place of“代替”，in the place of“在…地方”，如：A new building is built in the place of the old one.
43. in secret, in the secret
in secret“秘密地、暗自地、偷偷地”，一般用作狀語；in the secret指知道內情、知道秘密，一般用作表語。如：My mother was in the secret from the beginning.
44. a girl, one girl
a girl可泛指所有女孩, one girl指一個女孩，如：Can one girl carry such a big box?
45. take a chair, take the chair
take a chair“相當于”，sit down“坐下”，take the chair“開始開會”
46. go to sea, by sea, by the sea
go to sea“當海員、出航”，by sea“乘船、由海路”， by the sea“在海邊”，如：go by sea。
47. the doctor and teacher, the doctor and the teacher
the doctor and teacher指一個人，既是醫(yī)生又是老師；the doctor and the teacher指兩個人，一個醫(yī)生和一個老師。
48. in office, in the office
in office“在職的”，in the office“在辦公室里”，如：He is in office, not out of office.
49. in bed, on the bed
in bed“臥在床上”，on the bed“在床上”，如：The book is on the bed. He is ill in bed.
50. in charge of, in the charge of
in charge of“管理、負責照料”，in the charge of“由……照料”，如：He is in charge of the matter. The matter is in the charge of her.
