homograph

/ˈhɒməˌgræf/

Other forms: homographs

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.

Definitions of homograph

1. noun

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

   homonym

   two words are homonyms if they are pronounced or spelled the same way but have different meanings