Heel, heal and he’ll are commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words heel, heal, and he’ll, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.
The heel is the part of the foot located below the ankle. Heel may also mean the part of a sock or shoe that covers this portion of the foot. Heel also refers to the crusty ends of a loaf of bread, and in the United States, it may mean a contemptible person. The verb heel is usually a command to a dog to follow closely at the owner’s heels. Related words are heels, heeled, heeling. The word heel is derived from the Old English word, hela.
Heal is a verb that means to make an ill or injured person well, to make someone mentally healthy, to alleviate a difficult situation. Related words are heals, healed, healing, healer. The word heal is derived from the Old English word hælan, which means to cure.
He’ll is a contraction of the words he will or he shall. In English, a contraction is an abbreviated word formed by removing a letter or multiple letters from a longer word or phrase. The omitted letters are replaced by an apostrophe.
Examples
The plantar fascia is a band of tissue on the bottom of the foot that extends from the heel to the toes. (The Courier)
Prince Harry and Prince William have ‘five months to heal their rift’ or their relationship may never recover, a royal expert has claimed. (The Daily Mail)
Trump holds another raucous rally in Pensacola, where he’ll need every vote he can get (The Tampa Bay Times)