homograph

American  

[hom-uh-graf, -grahf, hoh-muh-] / ˈhɒm əˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf, ˈhoʊ mə- /

noun

1. a word of the same written form as another but of different meaning and usually origin, whether pronounced the same way or not, as bear 1 “to carry; support” and bear 2 “animal” or lead 1 “to conduct” and lead 2 “metal.”

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homograph British  

/ ˈhɒməˌɡræf, -ˌɡrɑːf /

noun

1. one of a group of words spelt in the same way but having different meanings Compare heteronym

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Usage

What is a homograph? Homographs are words that have the same spelling but different meanings, whether they’re pronounced the same or not. Bass (the fish, rhymes with class) and bass (the instrument, rhymes with ace) are homographs. But so are bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (the covering of a tree). These two senses of bark can also be considered homophones. You can learn more about the difference in the next section. There are many homographs in English, including many commonly used words, which can make things confusing, even for native speakers.

Related Words

See homonym.

Other Word Forms

• homographic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of homograph

First recorded in 1800–10; homo- + -graph

Explanation

Use the noun homograph to talk about two words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and are sometimes pronounced differently — like sow, meaning "female pig," and sow, "to plant seeds." The word homograph merges homos, the Greek word for "same," with graph, "to write." If two words are written identically but don't share a meaning, they are homographs. Some examples are close ("to shut") and close ("nearby"); and bass ("deep") and bass ("the fish"). Homographs are confusing at first glance, but once you read them in the context of a sentence or hear them spoken aloud, you'll easily figure out which word is intended.

Example Sentences

Some disagreement exists among scholars as to whether pronunciation must be different for a word to be considered a homograph.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

She's German but the homograph was entirely deliberate.

From The Guardian • Aug. 19, 2010