Linguistics & Word Confusions: Homophone

Posted January 7, 2016 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Linguistics, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
7 Mar 2023


Pinterest pin for homophone

A type of linguistic word play, a homophone is a subset of homonym.

If you break homophone apart:

Homo- means same

-phone means sound

This means a homophone sounds the same. It may or may not be spelled the same and it does not mean the same. It may comprise one or more words (one word is the most common).

If the homophone is spelt the same, then it is also a homonym; if it has a different spelling, then it’s an heterograph.

Like the homonym, it is one of the most frequently confused of word groups as the words sound similar; some of the Word Confusions about which I post are homophones.

Click here for a quick look at the differences between them -nyms, -graphs, -phones, and -semys.

Table 1. Quick Re-cap of Linguistic Word Play
Spelling Sounds Meaning Example
Homonym
same same different bark (tree)

bark (dog)
Homograph
same same
OR
different		 different present (gift)

present (introduce)
Heteronym **
same different different row (argument)

row (of seats)
Paronym **
different different derivative childish from child

preface from prefatio

affect vs effect

Oronym (Phrase)
different similar different Why don’t you take a nice cold shower.

Why don’t you take an ice cold shower.
Capitonym
same, except

1. Proper Noun
2. common noun

 same
or
different		 different

1. March (third month of the year)

2. march (high stepping)

Monosemy *
ONE word same only ONE meaning aunt
Polysemy *
same same
or
different		 shares a common root mouth (hole in your face)

mouth (cave opening)

Homophone
same
or
different		 same different rose (flower)

rose (past tense of rise)

fair

fare
Heterograph
different same different copy right (copy correctly)

copyright (patent)

copywrite (write copy)

* Monosemy is the opposite of polysemy.

** Paronym is the opposite of heteronym.

Linguistics and Word Confusions sometimes . . .

. . . combines the systematic study of the nature, structure, and variation of language (of which grammar is a part), which describes how people use language while the Word Confusion is a pair (or more) of words that are confused spelling-wise with each other. Combining these two categories keeps writers aware of how words are used (or spelled!) determining a character’s social and educational level and the time period for the story.

As I discover more examples, also-known-ases, and additions, I’ll update this post. If you have a suggestion, I would appreciate you contacting me. If you found this post on “Homophone” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

Homophone
Part of Speech: Linguistics, Semantics, Word Play, Figure of Speech
Definition: A type of homonym that sounds alike BUT have different meanings and different spellings.
SOME Single-Word Examples:
“In versus Inn“
lain, lane
“Links versus Lynx“		 “Lead versus Led“
“Lie versus Lye“
“Pair vs Pare vs Pear“		 “Peer versus Pier“
“Pleas versus Please“
“Scene vs Seen“
“Brake versus Break“ “Peak vs Peek vs Peke vs Pique“ “Stationary versus Stationery“
“Heroin versus Heroine“ “Pore versus Pour“ “To vs Too vs Two“
“Palate vs Palette vs Pallet“ “Right vs Rite vs Wright vs Write“ “Their vs There vs They’re“
SOME Phrase Examples:
“a dressed male” vs. “addressed mail” “crusher” vs. “crusha”
“depend” vs. “deep end” “euthanasia” vs. “Youth in Asia”
“example” vs. “egg sample” “Gemini” vs. “Jim and I” vs. “Jem in eye”
“philanderer” vs. “Flanders” “sand which is there” vs. “sandwiches there”
“the sky” vs. “this guy” “ice cream” vs. “I scream”
“vodka” vs. “Ford Ka” “big hand” vs. “began” vs. “Mégane” vs. “Meg’s hand”
“four candles” vs. “fork handles” “foxhole” vs. “Vauxhall” vs. “Vauxhall”
“minute” vs. “my newt” “real eyes” vs. “realize” vs. “real lies”
“them all” vs. “the mall” “some others” vs. “some mothers” vs. “smothers”

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Linguistics posts by exploring its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, the Properly Punctuated, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Homophone

“Homophone.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone>.

Moore, Carol. “Explanation of Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, and Heteronyms.” Buzzy Bee Riddles. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.magickeys.com/books/riddles/words.html>.

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Pinterest Image Credits

Standing Ovation by Niccolò Caranti is in the public domain as well as under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. A photo of Rosa Gold Glow at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden in California was taken by Stan Shebs and is under the GFDL, CC BY-SA 3.0, or CC BY-SA 2.5 licenses. Both are via Wikimedia Commons.

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