Principal vs. Principle Quizzes

Homophones are one of the many tricky parts of the English language. There are countless numbers of them; they all sound alike; most have similar spellings; and they all have different meanings.

There are all sorts of mnemonic devices to aid in remembering the differences between such words, but even the greatest mnemonic doesn’t help a writer judge whether or not he has mastered a set of words.

That’s why I have made the following set of interactive quizzes. They are a great way to test your ability; they let you know where your weaknesses are; and they show you where you need further study.

In this post, we will be going over quizzes for principal vs. principle.

Quiz Set 1

For the below quiz problems, pick either principal or principle to fit in the blank.

  • Before the pep rally began, ______ Smith made an announcement.
  • You should not steal; It’s a matter of ______.
  • I am a man of _____. I will not lie.
  • Suzy, please come to the ______ office.
  • This ruling was based on expediency, not sound ______.

Check below for the answers to Quiz Set 1.

Quiz Set 2

english grammar quizzes for studentsNow that you have a basic feel for each word and how it’s used, test you knowledge with Quiz Set 2. Again, pick the correct word, either principle or principal, to fit in the blank.

  • In ______ I agree with you, but not in practice.
  • The ______ of your loan is $50,000.
  • His ______ argument was that the trade deal was not sound policy.
  • My ______ reason for coming out tonight was to see you before you left.
  • After my internship, I became the ______ assistant to the Secretary of State.
  • Do you agree with the ______ outlined in my argument?

See the answers to this quiz below.

There it is! You have fully mastered the difference between principal and principle. These are two words that people get mixed up all the time in their writing, so you should feel great about finally putting your confusion to rest.

help with english writingAs you can see from the quiz sets, principle functions solely as a noun and nothing more. Principal, on the other hand, can function as a noun or an adjective. So when you see a blank that precedes another noun, you can safely assume that the correct word choice is principal and it is acting as an adjective.

If you see an article (a, an, or the) preceding a word, it could be either principle or principal, so you will need to look at the context of the sentence to get a better idea.

For a more full discussion on principle vs. principal, visit our full article here.

Bonus Quiz Set

Just in case you hadn’t quite had enough practice, here is one additional quiz set.

  • After the market downturn, I lost my entire ______ investment.
  • Today I was sent to the ______ office and got a detention.
  • I can’t afford the ______ payments on my house.

See the answers to this quiz below.

Answers to Quizzes

Quiz Set 1 Answers:

  • Principal
  • Principle
  • Principle
  • Principal’s
  • Principles

Quiz Set 2 Answers:

  • Principle
  • Principal
  • Principal
  • Principal
  • Principal
  • Principles

Bonus Quiz Set Answers:

  • Principal
  • Principal
  • Principal

 

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