Word fun

Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs and Heterographs

A Homonym shares the same spelling and pronunciation but has a different meaning. E.G. bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (part of a tree).

Homographs are words with the same spelling (pronunciation may vary) but each has a different meaning as in hound (a dog breed) or hound (to pester).  

Homophones share the same pronunciation, no matter the spelling, and also have a different meaning, E.G: fair (a public gathering) and fare (a fee for public transportation). 

If the spelling is the same and they sound the same, both words are homographs and homonyms.
For example, rose (the flower) and rose (past tense of to rise).

Heterographs are words that have different spelling but sound the same. E.G.  to, too, two, and there, their, and they’re.

But wait, there’s more!

Heteronyms are a subset of homographs (and let’s not forget homonyms) that have different pronunciations and meanings. In other words, they are homographs, but not homophones. These include row (as in an argument) and row (at to row a boat or a row of seats).

The word 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.