Homonyms, Homophones and Homographs

Homonyms, homophones and homographs can bring confusion to even adults and teachers! VocabularySpellingCity can help anyone master these word groups. For clarity, we've brought them all together on one page. It makes it easier to learn the difference among the three types of words using the definitions and homonyms, homophones and homographs examples below.

Homonyms Homophones Homographs
Multiple meaning words Words that sound alike Same spelling,
different pronunciation,
different meanings
 the spruce tree...
 to spruce up...		  addition for math
 edition of a book		  desert = abandon
 desert = area of land
 suit yourself...
 wore a suit...		  I want to go
 I like it too
 One plus one is two		  bass = fish
 bass = instrument
 weigh on the scale...
 scale the wall...		  capitol building
 state capital		  close = nearby
 close = to shut
 the price is fair...
 go to the fair...		  pick a flower
 bake with flour		  bow = to bend down
 bow = ribbon

Homonyms

Homonyms, or multiple meaning words, are words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings. For example, bear.

A bear (the animal) can bear (tolerate) very cold temperatures.
The driver turned left (opposite of right) and left (departed from) the main road.

Homophones, also known as sound-alike words, are words that are pronounced identically although they have different meanings and often have different spellings as well. These words are a very common source of confusion when writing. Common examples of sets of homophones include: to, too, and two; they're and their; bee and be; sun and son; which and witch; and plain and plane. VocabularySpellingCity is a particularly useful tool for learning to correctly use and spell the soundalike words.


source: http://www.spellingcity.com/homophones-and-homonyms.html