Noun

1. A word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning.
2. A word that sounds or is spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning, technically called a (same sound) or a (same spelling).
3. A name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another name that belongs to a different taxon.

Usage notes

• Homonyms are divided into the two overlapping subcategories homographs and homophones. Examples:
  • and (homophones but not homographs)
  • the fish and , part of the tail of a whale (both homophones and homographs and therefore, in every sense, homonyms)
  • the metal and the verb (homographs but not homophones)