Definition

1. Noun:
   • A word that is spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning and often a different origin or pronunciation: A "homograph" is one of a pair or group of words that share the same written form but differ in meaning. They may also differ in pronunciation (e.g., 'lead' [to guide] vs. 'lead' [the metal]).

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The words "bow" (a knot) and "bow" (to bend forward) are homographs.
  • "Tear" (a drop from the eye) and "tear" (to rip) are classic examples of homographs.
  • In the sentence, "He will present the present," the word "present" is used as a homograph.

Advanced Usage

• Linguistic Classification: Homographs are a specific type of homonym. The term is used precisely in linguistics to categorize words based on their written form, distinct from homophones (same sound, different spelling/meaning) and homonyms (same spelling sound, different meaning).
  • Linguists study homographs to understand how context determines word meaning.

Variants and Related Words

• Homography (n): The state or phenomenon of being homographs; the relationship between homographs.
  • The homography of "bass" (fish) and "bass" (low sound) can confuse learners.
• Homographic (adj): Of or relating to homographs.
  • The dictionary included a note on the homographic pair.

Synonyms

• Homonym (in a broad sense, though technically homonyms are also pronounced the same).

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Homophone: A word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not (e.g., 'to', 'too', 'two').
• Heteronym: A specific type of homograph that is also a heterophone—words spelled identically but pronounced differently and having different meanings (e.g., 'desert' [abandon] vs. 'desert' [arid region]). All heteronyms are homographs, but not all homographs are heteronyms.

Noun

1. two words are homographs if they are spelled the same way but differ in meaning (e.g. fair)