Homophones, Homographs, Homonymns, and Hetronyms
Homophone
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings.
Sound the same and spelled differently
hear ~ here
to ~ too ~ two
there ~ their ~ they're
Sound the same and spelled the same (these are also homographs)
can (tin or garbage) ~ can (verb) ~ can (bathroom)
Homograph
Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and often different sounds.
Spelled the same but sound different
wind ~ wind
read ~ read
record ~ record
Spelled the same and sound the same (these are also homophones)
well ~ well
can (tin or garbage) ~ can (verb) ~ can (bathroom)
Homonym
Homonyms are words with the same sound and often the same spelling but different meanings.
fair (county) ~ fair (reasonable) ~ fair (appearance)
Hetronym
Hetronyms are words that are spelled the same but differ in pronunciation and meaning.
tear (rip) ~ tear (from eye)
bass (music) ~ bass (fish)