Word that are spelled the same, but which have different meanings and etymologies are normally referred to as:
- homographs
Words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently are:
- heteronyms
The word homograph is made from two morphemes. The first is homo- meaning same. The second is graph which means writing or written. -nym as you can probably guess means name.
Other examples of homographs:
- (river) bank, (high street bank)
- (transport) plane (woodwork tool)
- (person) fan (machine)
- (implement) pen (farm)
- (punctuation) colon (pooh)
Some heteronyms - which are also homographs:
- (argue) row (sport)
- (guitar) bass (fish)
- (genuflect) bow (ribbon)
- (wind) buffet (canape)
Business Insider
businessinsider.com › business insider › news › 20 words that are spelled the same but have different meanings
Words That Are Spelled the Same but Mean Different Things - Business Insider
March 1, 2023 - There are lots of English language words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. A baseball bat and the nocturnal animal bat are good examples of a "homonym." An airy wind and "to wind down" are homographs, too.
Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › articles › commonly-confused-words › homonym-homophone-homograph
homonym vs. homophone vs. homograph : Commonly confused words | Vocabulary.com
The ending –graph means drawn or written, so a homograph has the same spelling. The –phone ending means sound or voice, so a homophone has the same pronunciation. But here's where it gets tricky.
terminology - What are words that are spelt the same but pronounced differently? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Words like "read", "wind", "live" and "lead" are spelt the same, but have different meanings: Lead1 (leed): cause (a person or animal) to go with one by holding them by the hand, a halter, a ro... More on english.stackexchange.com
Words that sound the same but are spelled differently are called homonyms. Is there a description for words with the same spelling but different pronunciation (like read, lead, rebel etc)?
Homophone: sound the same, written different. (two, too) Homograph: written the same, sound different (lead, lead) Homonym: written the same and sound the same, don't mean the same. More on reddit.com
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August 29, 2014Word with different spelling, but same sound? [homophone] | WordReference Forums
What is that called? It's on the tip my tongue, but I just can't recall the right word. Thanks, -Jonathan. More on forum.wordreference.com
Is there a name for a word that has the same spelling, same meaning, but differing sound? "Use"
Depending on the angle you’re coming at it from, there are two answers. Phonetics/phonology: That would be a homograph. Just like “bow” ([bəʊ], rhymes with “so”) and “bow” ([baʊ], rhymes with “cow”), they have the same spelling but a different pronunciation. The other kind of homonymic relationship would be a homophone—two words spelt differently but pronounced the same. Morphology: “Conversion” is a morphological term that describes the derivation of a word (i.e. changing its word category) without adding a derivational affix. Whilst “act” (verb) and “action” (noun) differ by the suffix “-ion”, which makes it a simple case of derivation, “use” (verb) and “use” (noun) are spelt the exact same way, which means we’re dealing with conversion here. Whether or not the pronunciation is different is irrelevant to conversion. In “to tutor someone” and “my tutor”, “tutor” (as far as I’m aware) is pronounced the same way. In “EXtract” (noun) vs. “exTRACT” (verb), there’s a stress shift. Both are examples for conversion. More on reddit.com
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September 15, 2020Videos
10:56
SAME spelling but DIFFERENT pronunciation?! Heteronyms in English ...
07:21
Words that sound the same in English - YouTube
09:01
Different Spelling but Same Pronunciation? 🤔 Homophones in English ...
10:33
English Heteronyms: Words With The Same Spelling But Different ...
Confusing words with same spelling but different meaning ...
15:18
SAME WORDS: DIFFERENT MEANINGS! (pronunciation AND definition ...
Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › dictionary › homonym
Homonym - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
A homonym is a word that is said or spelled the same way as another word but has a different meaning. "Write” and “right” is a good example of a pair of homonyms. Homonym traces back to the Greek words homos, meaning “same,” and onuma, ...
IDP IELTS
ielts.idp.com › idp ielts › prepare for ielts › homophones, homographs & homonyms
Grammar 101 | Homonyms vs Homophones vs Homographs | IDP IELTS
June 17, 2021 - In loose terms, both homographs and homophones are a kind of homonym because they either sound the same (homophone) or are spelled the same (homograph). The word homophone comes from the Greek word homos (=same) and phone (=voice).
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › grammar & usage › commonly confused › homophones, homographs, and homonyms | merriam-webster
Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms | Merriam-Webster
May 30, 2025 - Sometimes these words sound different (as in the bow of a ship, and the bow that shoots arrows), and sometimes these words sound the same (as in quail meaning ‘to cower’ and quail meaning a type of bird).
Accenteraser
accenteraser.com › blog › homophones
Homophones: Words that Sound the Same, but are Spelled Differently – AccentEraser
Without further ado, here is a chart of some of the most common sets of homophones in English. Remember, all of the words in the left column are pronounced the same way. That is, if you say “ate, eight” out loud, then it should sound exactly the same as if you said “ate, ate” or “eight, eight”.
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Word that are spelled the same, but which have different meanings and etymologies are normally referred to as:
- homographs
Words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently are:
- heteronyms
The word homograph is made from two morphemes. The first is homo- meaning same. The second is graph which means writing or written. -nym as you can probably guess means name.
Other examples of homographs:
- (river) bank, (high street bank)
- (transport) plane (woodwork tool)
- (person) fan (machine)
- (implement) pen (farm)
- (punctuation) colon (pooh)
Some heteronyms - which are also homographs:
- (argue) row (sport)
- (guitar) bass (fish)
- (genuflect) bow (ribbon)
- (wind) buffet (canape)
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5
HOMONYMS are words that sound alike but have different meanings.
Homophones are a type of homonym that also sound alike and have different meanings, but have different spellings.
HOMOGRAPHS are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings.
Heteronyms are a type of homograph that are also spelled the same and have different meanings, but sound different.
Little-lever
little-lever.bolton.sch.uk › wp-content › uploads › 2020 › 03 › Homophones.pdf pdf
` Identifying words that sound the same Ww/E3.1 Ww/E3.2 © BBC 2011
Some words in English sound the same when they’re spoken but have different spellings and · different meanings. For example, the words write and right sound the same but mean different · things and are spelt differently. These words are called homophones.
Canofworms
canofworms.com › triple-homonyms.html
Triple Homonyms
February 2, 2011 - There are a lot of homonyms running around out there in the wild. Finding three words that can be pronounced the same but are spelled different is more rare. I’ve collected this list of triple homonyms over a period of time. They are words that are spelled differently, have different meanings, ...
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Heteronym_(linguistics)
Heteronym (linguistics) - Wikipedia
1 week ago - A heteronym (also known as a heterophone) is a word that has a different pronunciation and meaning as another word but the same spelling. These are homographs that are not homophones.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/answers › words that sound the same but are spelled differently are called homonyms. is there a description for words with the same spelling but different pronunciation (like read, lead, rebel etc)?
r/answers on Reddit: Words that sound the same but are spelled differently are called homonyms. Is there a description for words with the same spelling but different pronunciation (like read, lead, rebel etc)?
August 29, 2014 -
Apparently, what I thought were homonyms were actually heterographs. I think I'm too set in my ways in that regard
Top answer 1 of 5
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Homophone: sound the same, written different. (two, too) Homograph: written the same, sound different (lead, lead) Homonym: written the same and sound the same, don't mean the same.
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Heteronym. I screwed up the link but /u/thunderbong did it correctly . Check the very helpful Venn diagram. Edit: Fixed that link, and linked to the Venn diagram. Thanks u/thunderbong !
Oxford Royale
oxford-royale.com › home › homophones: the most confusing words in english (a list with meanings)
Homophones: the Most Confusing Words in English (a List with Meanings) - Oxford Royale
September 15, 2025 - Homophone – all words and phrases that sound the same but have different meanings Homograph – words that sound and are spelled the same but have different meanings Homonym – words that have the same spelling but a different meaning Heterograph – words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings Multinym – words that sound the same but have more than two different meanings and spellings
WordReference
forum.wordreference.com › english only › english only
Word with different spelling, but same sound? [homophone] | WordReference Forums
September 27, 2005 - ... Homonym: 1. One of two or more words that have the same sound and often the same spelling but differ in meaning, such as bank (embankment) and bank (place where money is kept).
Wizert
wizert.com › english › blog › 17-pairs-of-english-words-that-sound-the-same-but-have-different-meaning
17 Pairs of English Words That Sound the Same but Have Different Meaning - Wizert
Both words sound like the name Mary, but they have a different meaning. Merry is an adjective that means happy, usually found in phrases such as Merry Christmas. Marry, on the other hand, is a verb describing the act of joining in marriage. Ex. Merry Christmas Sara. Will you marry me? A pair is a set of two items or people. Just like pair, pear is also a noun but with a different meaning.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Homonym
Homonym - Wikipedia
4 weeks ago - Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled. If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently ...
Facebook
facebook.com › groups › waywordradio › posts › 10155398544768584
Words spelled differently but pronounced the same?
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Preply
preply.com › preply language learning hub › learn english online › english vocabulary › homophones: words that sound the same in english
Words that Sound the Same in English
September 18, 2025 - Some examples of homonyms are “be” and “bee,” “bough” and bow,” or even three-way homonyms such as “cite,” “site,” and “sight.” These sets of words sound the same but are spelled differently and have their own unique ...
Facebook
facebook.com › groups › 284627577540089 › posts › 391005626902283
GIVE HOMOPHONES (words with the same sound but ...
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Quora
quora.com › What-words-sound-the-same-but-spelled-differently
What words sound the same but spelled differently? - Quora
Answer (1 of 3): Words which sound the same but have different meanings or have different spelling, are called homophones. 1. ate, eight ate (verb): This is the simple past tense of the verb “to eat.” I ate an entire pizza and now I’m ...
Hadar Shemesh
hadarshemesh.com › home › podcast › 20. same spelling but different pronunciation? ?
20. Same Spelling but Different Pronunciation? ?
December 12, 2024 - I guess it’s going to be hard. Because two words (that are pronounced differently) share this spelling! Homographs are words that are written the same but are pronounced differently.