Homonym is a group of words that share the same spelling or pronunciation (or both) but have different meanings.
The word “homonym” comes from Greek prefix homo- (”same”) and suffix -onym (”name”). Thus, it refers to two or more distinct words sharing the “same name”.
Examples of homonyms in English are:
- stalk - part of a plant
- stalk - to follow someone around
- the trio of words to, too and two
- bow - To bend forward at the waist in respect (e.g. “bow down”)
- bow - the front of the ship (e.g. “bow and stern”)
- bow - the weapon which fires arrows (e.g. “bow and arrow”)
- bow - a kind of tied ribbon (e.g. bow on a present, a bowtie)
- bow - to bend outward at the sides (e.g. a “bow-legged” cowboy)
- bough - a branch on a tree. (e.g. “when the bough breaks…”)
Similarly, a river bank, a savings bank, a bank of switches, and a bank shot in pool share only a common spelling and pronunciation, but not meaning.
Examples in French:
- vers, ver, verre, vert (pertry, worm, glass, green)
- mer, mère et maire (see, mother, mayor)
- sang, cent, sans, sent (blood, one hundred, without, smells)
Examples in Russian:
- ключ (key) and ключ (spring)
- коса (braid), коса (cock-eye), коса (scythe)
- пол (sex), пол (floor)
- течь (leak), течь (to flow)