Homonyms, homophones, homographs

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• Homonyms
• Homophones
• Homographs
• Homonyms that are both homophones and homographs

This writing tip contains homonyms.

Homonyms

Homonyms are words that have different meanings but are pronounced or spelled the same way.

There are two types of homonyms: homophones and homographs.

Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and are often spelled differently.

Example 1: “flower” and “flour”

A flower is a blossom:

• I sent my mother a bouquet of flowers for her birthday.

Flour is a fine powder used for baking:

• The recipe calls for two cups of flour.

Example 2: “cent,” “scent” and “sent”

A cent is a unit of money:

• When my grandmother immigrated to Canada, she didn’t have a cent to her name.

Scent is a smell (usually pleasant):

• There’s nothing like the scent of coffee in the morning.

Sent is the past tense of the verb to send:

• The parcel was sent by courier.

Homographs

Homographs are words that have the same spelling but don’t mean the same thing. They may or may not be pronounced the same way.

Example 1: “row” and “row”

Row (a line) and row (a fierce quarrel or dispute) are pronounced differently:

• The kids all sat quietly in a row (pronounced ROH).
• The row (pronounced RAU) between the two brothers continued for years.

Example 2: “sewer” and “sewer”

Sewer (a conduit for waste) and sewer (a person who sews) sound quite different:

• The sewer (pronounced SOO-er) drains were backed up.
• Some experienced sewers (pronounced SOH-ers) make their own patterns.

Homonyms that are both homophones and homographs

Some homonyms are both homophones and homographs. They are pronounced the same way and spelled the same way.

Example 1: “bank” and “bank”

A bank can be a financial establishment or the slope bordering a river:

• Tomorrow, I’m going to the bank to meet with a financial advisor.
• Jim and Janet went down to the river bank to admire the swans.

Example 2: “tire” and “tire”

Tire may be a noun referring to the rubber covering on a wheel or a verb meaning “to become weary”:

• Winter tires make driving in icy conditions much safer.
• A lot of people tire easily in the hot sun.