Commonly Confused Words, Grades 9–10: List 1

People made up jokes and anecdotes about him that were the talk of the town. The House of the Spirits: A Novel

He skimmed over the other passages, looking for some information about an antidote to treat the poison. Beasts of Prey

I paint and paint until I fill up almost every available space on the canvas. A Mango-Shaped Space

Together they canvassed the sidewalk outside their building on 141st Street, equipped with clipboards and pens. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

But it was a nicer sound than that, a more musical tone: only so faint that you could hardly hear it. The Magician's Nephew

I got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but my blow was knocked aside. The Lightning Thief

She closes my file and puts it aside, perhaps a gesture to imply our conversation has just become informal and off the record. Challenger Deep

For my science project, I’m going to make a model of the moon’s surface and perform an experiment to infer how the moon’s impact craters were formed. Shine!

They are so different, but their differences, when they are on the same path, complement each other, fill in spaces. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers

“You’re a good storyteller,” I complimented him, still staring into the waves. Twilight

I suppose he had reason to be optimistic—he’d been given a second chance at life, at hope. Code Name Verity

That same pessimistic voice in my mind spoke up then, reminding me that I probably wouldn’t have a chance against one of them, and there were four. Twilight

Her feet had calluses on them, the result of martial-arts training. The Hot Zone

Has she already forgotten how terrible Brady’s death was, or is she so callous that she just doesn’t care? Dry

The world’s most famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, said that once you have eliminated all the possibilities, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true. The London Eye Mystery

The companies are accused of creating accounts in the names of family members, friends and fictitious individuals and using hundreds of credit cards to snap up the best seats at sporting events and concerts. New York Times

Most video games are built on a physics engine, a set of hard-coded rules for how a fictive world works. The New Yorker

This is the irony: Even though I wake up in a different body every morning, I’ve always felt in some way that I am in control. Every Day

“I always used the zombie as a character for satire or a political criticism,” Romero told Britain’s The Big Issue, “and I find that missing in what’s happening now.” Time

“Ah, we have a funny one,” Meir said with dry sarcasm, although I hadn’t been joking. The City Beautiful