Homonym vs Homophone
Homonym and homophone are two terms concerned with spelling and pronunciation that show some difference between them. They are not interchangeable for that matter. Homophones are words that have same pronunciation, but have different spellings and meanings. On the other hand, homonyms are words that have the same sound and at the same time, they have the same spelling, as well. This is an important difference between homonym and homophone. Knowing about the difference between homonyms and homophones can help you to use English language more appropriately as well as effectively. This article explains the difference between homonyms and homophones with examples.
What is a Homophone?
Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation, but different spelling and meaning. Take for example, the two words ‘knew’ and ‘new’. Both are homophones for that matter. Both the words ‘knew’ and ‘new’ have the same pronunciation, but they have different spellings and different meanings namely, ‘the past tense of know’ and ‘the opposite of old’. Look at the examples.
I knew he was lying.
I love your new shirt.
Actually, understanding the true meaning of homophones is easy if you pay attention to the context in which you use the words.
Some of the interesting examples of homophones are ‘meet’ and ‘meat’. Both these words are pronounced alike, but they have different spellings and meanings too. The word ‘meet’ gives the meaning of ‘join’, whereas the word ‘meat’ gives the meaning of the flesh of an animal. Look at the words ‘road’ and ‘rode’. The word ‘road’ refers to a path, whereas the word ‘rode’ is the past tense of ‘ride’.
What is a Homonym?
Homonyms are words that have the same pronunciation and spelling but different meanings. Now, this is a bit trickier than homophone. Look at the two sentences given below.
I screamed because I saw a bear running towards our van.
I took some pain killers because I could not bear the pain anymore.
Now, what are the homonyms used in these sentences? They are bear and bear. They are two different words that have the same sound and at the same time, they have the same spelling as well, but their meanings are different. The word ‘bear’ in the first sentence refers to a wild animal. On the other hand, the word ‘bear’ in the second sentence gives the meaning of ‘withstand’. It is used as a verb. The animal ‘bear’ looks very cute, but it is very dangerous, and can kill even human beings. Thus, the word ‘bear’ is used as a homonym.
Some other examples for homonyms are coach and patient. Patient, in one sense, refers to ‘someone who is ill’ and, in the other sense, refers to ‘bearing something.’ Coach, in one sense, means the ‘person who trains athletes’ and, in the other sense, refers to ‘a type of a cart.’
What is the difference between Homonym and Homophone?
• Homophones are words that have same pronunciation, but have different spellings and meanings.
• On the other hand, homonyms are words that have the same sound and at the same time, they have the same spelling, as well.
• Some examples for homophones are meat and meet, knew and new, road and rode.
• Some examples for homonyms are bear, patient and coach.
These are the most important differences between the two interesting terms used in the English language, namely, homonym and homophone.
