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Homonyms are words that have different meanings but are pronounced or spelled the same way. There are two types of homonyms: homophones and homographs.
Homophones sound the same but are often spelled differently.
The homophones carp (to complain needlessly) and carp (the fish) have the same spelling:
However, the homophones cent, scent and sent differ in spelling:
Homographs have the same spelling but do not necessarily sound the same.
Bank (a financial establishment) and bank (the slope bordering a river) are homographs that are spelled and sound the same:
But sewer (a conduit for waste) and sewer (a person who sews) sound quite different:
Note: Some homonyms—such as carp and bank, as we have just seen—are both homophones and homographs: they are both pronounced and spelled the same.
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