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Heteronyms


The words homograph, homogram, homophone, homonym, and heteronym are frequently confused, sometimes even by permissive dictionaries eager to reflect common usage rather than proper meaning. Homograph and homogram, which are synonyms, refer to words that are spelled the same but differ in meaning, derivation, or pronunication. Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, derivation, or spelling. Homonyms are words that are both homographs and homophones: words that are spelled and pronounced the same but differ in meaning or derivation.

Heteronyms are a type of homograph. They are words that are spelled the same but differ in meaning and pronunciation. All heteronyms are also homographs, but not all homographs are heteronyms. Many heteronyms are similar in meaning (especially a related noun and verb are spelled the same but pronounced differently), while others are wholly unrelated.

Here is a list of some of the most common heteronyms in the English language:

Sometimes a word changes meaning and pronunciation based on whether the first letter is capitalized or not. Since the only difference in the way the words are written is capitalization, these words are also heteronyms: