A very vital aspect of word learning includes phonological discrimination of lexical
items. This study investigated the degree by which accurate pronunciation of heterophones and
pseudo-homophones could be excitatory to comprehension of English sentences by young
Nigerian learners of English. Five sentences, each containing a target word, were presented to 40
pupils to read and interpret. Perceptual, referential and statistical analysis of the data revealed the
negative effect of deficit of phonological knowledge on word identification and decoding. It was
discovered that phonological sensibility was a vital predictor of correct contextual selection of
heterophones and pseudo-homophones. The findings support a model of comprehension in
which phonological knowledge is vital.