Homophone vs Homonym: Key Differences & Examples Explained

Do words like “bat” (the animal) and “bat” (the baseball equipment) confuse you? Or do you sometimes mix up “to,” “too,” and “two”? You’re not alone! Many people struggle to differentiate between homophones and homonyms. While both terms involve words with similar sounds or spellings, they are not the same. In this blog post, we’ll break down the key differences between homophones and homonyms, providing clear examples to help you master these tricky word types.

Defining Homophones

Let’s start with homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. The emphasis here is on the identical sound.

Key characteristics of homophones:

• Same Sound: They are pronounced exactly alike.
• Different Spelling and Meaning: They have distinct spellings and unrelated meanings.

Examples of homophones:

• to, too, two:
  • “I’m going to the store.”
  • “I want to come too.”
  • “I have two apples.”
• there, their, they’re:
  • “Put the book over there.”
  • “They love their dog.”
  • “They’re going to the beach.”
• hear, here:
  • “Can you hear the music?”
  • “Come over here.”

Defining Homonym

Now, let’s look at homonyms. Homonyms are words that are spelled and pronounced the same but have different meanings. The focus here is on identical spelling and pronunciation.

Key characteristics of homonyms:

• Same Spelling and Pronunciation: They look and sound exactly the same.
• Different Meanings: They have unrelated meanings.

Examples of homonyms:

• bat:
  • “The bat flew out of the cave.” (animal)
  • “He swung the bat at the ball.” (baseball equipment)
• bank:
  • “I deposited money at the bank.” (financial institution)
  • “We sat on the river bank.” (edge of a river)
• fair:
  • “The county held a large fair.” (event)
  • “She has a fair complexion.” (light coloured)

Homophone vs Homonym: Key Differences

Let us now look at some of the key differences between homophones and homonyms, highlighting their definitions, examples, spelling, pronunciation, and their relationship to each other.

Aspect	Homophones	Homonyms
Definition	Words that sound the same but have different meanings may be spelt differently.	Words that sound the same but have different meanings may be spelled differently.
Examples	– Pair (a couple) / Pear (a fruit) – Sea (large body of saltwater) / See (to perceive with the eyes)	– Bark (sound of a dog) / Bark (outer layer of a tree) – Bow (to bend forward) / Bow (a weapon)
Spelling	Different spellings for different meanings.	Same spelling for all meanings.
Pronunciation	Same pronunciation for all words.	Same pronunciation for all meanings.
Subcategories	A specific type of homonym focused on sound.	Can include both homophones and homographs.

Homophone vs Homonym Examples

The table below mentions the list of examples of homophones along with their meaning and sentence examples.

Homophone	Meaning	Example Sentence
Allowed	Given Permission	You are not allowed to smoke until you are 16.
Aloud	Spoken so that it can be heard	She spoke her thoughts aloud.
Bear	A large mammal	A bear is a large furry animal.
Bored	Feeling uninterested	To be bored is to have lost interest in something.
Board	A flat, thin, rectangular piece	A board is a flat piece of wood.
Break	To separate into pieces.	If you break something, you damage it.
Brake	To stop a vehicle	When you brake, the car slows down.
Flower	A blooming plant	A daffodil is a beautiful flower.
Flour	Powder made from ground grains	You need some flour to make the cake.
Here	In this place	Please come over here.
Hear	To perceive sound	Can you hear that noise?
Heal	To recover from injury	His leg will heal in a few weeks.
Heel	The back part of the foot	Your heel is at the back of your foot.
New	Recently made or acquired	I bought a brand new car.
Knew	Past tense of know	I knew the answer to the question.
One	The number 1	There was only one piece of cake left.
Won	Past tense of win	She won the race last week.
Peace	A state of tranquillity	He marched for world peace.
Piece	A portion of something	I want a piece of that cake.

Let us now look at the following list of homonyms with meanings.

Homonym	Meaning 1	Meaning 2
Ad	Advertisement	Add (combine)
Advice	Guidance	Advise (recommend)
Altar	Table in church	Table in church
Band	A group	Banned (prohibited)
Bark	Sound of a dog	Bark (outer layer of a tree)
Bat	Animal	Bat (equipment for hitting ball)
Cell	Compartment	Sell (vend)
Cereal	Breakfast food	Serial (sequential)
Close	Opposite of open	Clothes (clothing)
Clip	Fastener	Clip (cut)
Complement	Enhance; go together	Compliment (praise)
Cool	Moderately cold	Cool (stylish)
Date	Calendar day	Date (romantic encounter)

Explore similar blogs on Learn English below:

Difficult Homonyms with Examples	Confusing Words
Difficult Words with Meaning in English Vocabulary	Grammar Mistakes in English
One Word Substitutions	English Vocabulary
Spelling Rules in English	English for Competitive Exams

FAQs

We hope this blog on “Homophone vs Homonym vs Homograph” helped you improve your English skills. You can also follow the Learn English page of Leverage Edu for more exciting and informative blogs related to English grammar and the English language