What are homonyms?

Homonym definition

A homonym is when two or more words are spelled or pronounced the same, but have completely different meanings. The etymology of homonym is quite fitting for the word. It comes from the Greek prefix homo- meaning same and suffix -nym meaning name. Same name.

As a reader, homonyms can trip you up. The trick to getting homonyms straight is simply by reading, writing, and listening to the point when you pick up context clues in the rest of the sentence to anticipate which homonym you’re looking at.

As a writer, it’s important to give enough clear context clues in your writing so your readers don’t confuse one homonym with its literary twin. On occasion, you can purposely play with homonyms when creating puns, paraprosdokians, and other witty literary devices.

Homophone vs. homograph

Homonym is the overall term for a combination of words that either have the same spelling or sound but different meanings. You can break homonyms down further into two categories: homophones and homographs.

• Homophone – Words that sound the same but have different meanings.
• Homograph – Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings.

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Examples of homonyms in everyday life

To start wrapping your head around homonyms, check out some of these examples of homonyms in the form of both homophones and homographs.

Examples of homophones

The words below are pronounced the same, but they look different and hold different meanings.

• Bear – the animal
• Bear – to carry
• Bare – no clothes

• Break – separate into pieces after a blow
• Brake – a device to slow a vehicle

• Pear – the fruit
• Pair – two of something

• Sea – ocean
• See – sight

• Site – location
• Sight – vision
• Cite – to quote

• Waist – part of the body
• Waste – discarded material

Examples of homographs

The following words look the same but have different pronunciations and meanings.

• Bass – the fish
• Bass – the instrument

• Console – comfort
• Console – video game unit

• Content – satisfied
• Content – media

• Lead – the metal
• Lead – to guide followers

• Produce – create
• Produce – fruits and vegetables

• Tear – water from the eye
• Tear – to rip

Examples of homonyms that are both homophones and homographs

These words both look and sound the same. However, they hold different definitions.

• Bat – the animal
• Bat – baseball equipment

• Crane – bird
• Crane – construction machine

• Fair – reasonable
• Fair – festival

• Miss – overlook
• Miss – long for something
• Miss – prefix for an unmarried woman

• Park – outdoor recreational area
• Park – bring a vehicle to a stop

• Saw – tool
• Saw – to have seen something

Using homonyms when writing and editing

You can have a lot of fun with homonyms when writing.

For one example, look into The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde’s play has a boring-sounding title for one of the funniest farces in English theatre. And the whole work plays upon homonym wordplay. The title itself was very carefully chosen for its wordplay on the homonyms earnest and Ernest. The word earnest means to be sincere, and Ernest is a man’s name. In the play, Gwendolyn insists she can only love a man named Ernest. An orphaned man named Jack falls in love with her and masquerades as someone named Ernest, in part to win her hand and comedy ensues. He later finds out his real birth name was Ernest all along. At the end of the play, Jack/Ernest says, “I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being Earnest.” Wilde mocks social conventions, in particular those surrounding seeking marriage, and uses the homonyms of Ernest and Earnest to create puns to showcase his points.

You can also use your knowledge of homonyms to avoid common grammatical mistakes as you proofread your work.

• Wrong: The purse compliments the dress.
• Right: The purse complements the dress.

Mastering homonyms doesn’t just make you a better reader, it makes you a better writer too. Keep an eye out for misused homonyms next time you sit down to edit work. Or punch some creativity in your work with homonyms. Use them in a sentence or title, or even let the homonym guide the entire work as Oscar Wilde did. You may surprise yourself with what you can come up with.