Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs
They perplex us, confuse us, and make our heads spin. If you thought learning how to correctly spell words that sound alike was difficult, wait till you try to learn the terms for describing those words.
Homophones
Homophones are words that are pronounced alike but have different meanings. Some examples are accept and except, affect and effect, and triplets too and to and two, along with they’re and their and there.
Homophones may also refer to words that are spelled and pronounced the same, but differ in meaning, for example lie (lie down) and lie (an untruth).
These words are a major source of frustration for many writers, students, and professionals who struggle to memorize variant spellings for words that sound alike but have different meanings. English teachers and other spelling perfectionists wince when homophones are written incorrectly.
Worst of all, spell check won’t catch the error when incorrect homophones are used because alternative spellings are legitimate.
Homonyms
And to confuse matters further, there are other words called homonyms, which are spelled and pronounced alike but have different meanings. Examples include words like stalk, which could refer to the stem of a plant (a stalk of corn), or the act pursuing or approaching prey (the cat stalked the mouse).
Another example of a homonym is lie – as in lie down or telling a lie or untruth.
That’s right, some homophones can also be classified as homonyms – if they’re spelled the same.
Confused yet? Wait. There’s more.
Homographs
Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. They may be pronounced the same or they could be pronounced differently from one another.
This means that some homographs are homophones and homonyms.
A good homograph example is record (a disc that plays audio) and record (to save or register something – in writing, audio, video, etc.).
How To Remember Homophones, Homonyms, and Homographs
It’s not easy but it can be done. You can remember the difference (what difference there is) between homophones, homonyms, and homographs by breaking each word down and recalling the meaning of its root suffix and prefix. Also, try remembering each term separately to start, and don’t worry about which homophones are homonyms and which homonyms are homographs.
The root homo means “the same.” For all of these words something is the same – the spelling or the pronunciation.
- Homophones sound alike. That’s the only rule and you can remember by the suffix phone, a word you can surely relate to sound. They may be spelled alike or not but they must sound alike.
- Homonyms are spelled alike. Same name. Name = nym. Like the words “same” and “name” they also sound alike.
- Homographs look alike (same spelling). Like graphs, they are visual. With the prefix homo, they are visually the same.
Easy enough? Sure it is!
Do you have your own tricks for remembering homophones, homonyms, and homographs? Do you find any of them especially confusing? Share your tips, ideas, and questions in the comments.
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Flubbed homophones and homonyms are contextual land-mines that momentarily destroy the comprehensive flow. As a reader, they are to me the “King Peeve” of all grammatical goofs. The tragedy is that I encounter many brilliantly intelligent people who misuse them. In their defense, however, I contend that the habitual offenders know the difference; they’re just accustomed to most often communicating in the verbal medium, where phonetics and context, not spelling, determine auditory comprehension. In a predominant speaker, the brain-to-finger connection isn’t likely as refined as it is in a predominant writer. The only way to master homophones and homonyms is to practice their usage in the only medium that celebrates their distinction.
“accept” and “except” are not pronounced alike; neither are “affect” and “effect”
Sloppy pronunciation – resulting too often from mistaking the meaning of one for the other – is not excused by invoking “homophones”.
Actually, pronunciation varies depending on location. There are many different English dialects throughout the world. In my region, for example, “affect” and “effect” are pronounced exactly the same.
However, in all regions, sentences are supposed to start with capital letters and end with some type of punctuation mark, like a period. Sloppy grammar is sometimes the result of focusing on others’ perceived shortcoming and not enough on our own.
A HOMOPHONE is a group of words that sound the same but have different meanings and the spellings may be the same or different. (Homophones can be homonyms)
Remember this: ‘Same Sound’ When you are on the Phone you may hear a word, but you have to listen to the entire sentence to understand the meaning and spelling. Example; sun, son; pale, pail; hear, here.
A HOMOGRAPH is a group of words that sound different and have different meanings but are spelled the same.
Remember this: ‘Look the Same’ When you start to graph something, it looks the same before adding the data. The graph will always start with an ‘X’ and ‘Y’ axis. Once the data is graphed the meaning will be different. Example; wind, wind; live, live; tear, tear.
I used this website to help put this together for my 5th and 6th grade reading classes. This is the information I will be giving them to help them understand the differences. Thanks for help me understand it first.
That’s wonderful! Good luck to you with your students!