| CHESSMOVE | "Night before" is a homophone of one |
| FIRST | What one hasn't achieved before is a top degree (5) |
| SIEVE | The night before is coming back -- and it's full of holes (5) |
| HANGOVER | What comes head-first after the night before is just an extension of what has been (8) |
| POTSTILL | Kitty, as before, is a whisky producer (3,5) |
| RYOT | From "flock, graze, herd", a word for an Indian peasant or farmer that is a homophone of a term for a tumult or violent breach of peace (4) |
| CUE | Verb that's a homophone of one of my initials |
| SCI | Academic department (for short) that's a homophone of one of its subdivisions (for short) |
| ODESSA | City in Texas; a homophone of one in Ukraine (6) |
| EYE | Fittingly, a homophone of one letter in "sight" |
| THICKE | Actor Alan whose last name is a homophone of a synonym of "dense" |
| JANEEYRE | Charlotte Bronte's heroine whose surname is a homophone of a word for atmosphere, ether or a successor (4,4) |
| OUI | Affirmative that is a homophone of a pronoun |
| ASHE | Tennis star whose name is a homophone of a gray shade |
| AETNA | Insurance company whose name is a homophone of a volcano |
| ARES | God whose name is a homophone of a zodiac sign |
| KORN | Metal band whose name is a homophone of a yellow vegetable |
| KLEE | Artist whose name is a homophone of a sculpture medium |
| PAAR | Former TV host whose name is a homophone of a golf score |
| ROAM | B-52s hit whose title is a homophone of a national capital |
