homonym
homonym — noun
- homonymsingular
- homonymsplural
1. a term whose pronunciation or spelling matches another term's, yet its meaning i
a term whose pronunciation or spelling matches another term's, yet its meaning is completely different — for example, 'bear' the animal versus 'bear' meaning to carry
Mei heard that 'see' and 'sea' are homonyms because they sound exactly alike.
For the spelling test, 'flower' and 'flour' are homonyms that confuse many young students.
homonyms that confuse — noun phrase showing how homonyms affect learners
Lucía learned that 'tear' is a homonym for a rip and a teardrop.
The dictionary lists 'lead' as a homonym — the metal and verb share the same spelling.
When reading aloud, Vivek sometimes mistakes homonyms like 'there' and 'their' because they sound alike.
文法句型
homonym + for + [meanings]
homonym + of + [word]
用法筆記
In daily conversation, 'homonym' covers both words that sound the same (homophones) and words that look the same (homographs). Language specialists sometimes use 'homophone' or 'homograph' for more precise classification.
常見錯誤
2. a word that shares identical spelling and the same pronunciation with another wo
a word that shares identical spelling and the same pronunciation with another word yet conveys a completely different meaning — for example, 'bank' meaning a financial institution and 'bank' meaning the side of a river
Ada noticed that 'bat' is a homonym for both a flying animal and sports equipment.
homonym for — pattern showing two specific meanings of the same word
Yan explained that 'spring' is a homonym for a season and a coiled wire.
Greta listed 'ring' as a homonym: jewellery and a phone ring share spelling and sound.
The term 'light' is a homonym for brightness, low weight, and pale colours.
Femi showed how 'match' is a homonym for a game and a fire stick.
- perfect homonym
a descriptive phrase for a word that matches another in both spelling and sound
文法句型
homonym + for + [meanings]
用法筆記
This narrower sense applies only when both spelling and pronunciation are identical. The term 'perfect homonym' or 'true homonym' is sometimes used to distinguish it from the broader sense covering homophones and homographs.