Lone is an adjective describing someone or something that is solo or alone. Loan, on the other hand, refers to the act of lending money or property with the expectation of repayment.

Being the lone classmate not chosen for a pickup basketball game reminds you that lone comes from a shortening of "alone." But the lone student to ace the essay assignment — that's a proud moment. Being the only one can be lonely or outstanding, just as these sentences illustrate:

Even Orville and Wilbur Wright flipped a coin to see who got the lone seat on their flying machine. (The Washington Times)

A lone coyote howled somewhere in the dark, and we froze momentarily. (Summer of the Mariposas)

A loan is money that’s borrowed and has to be repaid in a certain amount of time. You can get a loan from a friend or from a bank. But a loan isn’t always about lending money — you can loan your friend a pencil and your friend can loan you a shirt. Just remember that you both have to give those things back to each other. Here are some other uses of loan:

So they take out loans to pay for the bus, claiming they'll earn the money back in no time. (The Queen of Water)

I had agreed to loan Jack Franklin my car for a few days while his was in the shop. (How It Went Down)

While a loan cannot occur or exist without at least two people or two institutions (like banks), lone is all about a single person or thing. You can remember which word means which because the word lone has the word "one" in it.