* Homophones: Words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.
* Examples: "there," "their," and "they're"
* "Homophone" is the most general term.
* Homographs: Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and may or may not sound the same.
* Examples: "bow" (to bend) and "bow" (a knot), "lead" (a metal) and "lead" (to guide)
* Some homographs are also homophones (like "bow"), while others are not (like "lead").
* Homonyms: Words that are spelled the same and sound the same, but have different meanings.
* Examples: "bat" (a flying mammal) and "bat" (a piece of equipment for hitting a ball), "bear" (an animal) and "bear" (to endure)
* Homonyms are a subset of homographs. They are both spelled the same, but homonyms also have the same pronunciation.
Here's a way to remember them:
* Homophones: Sound the same.
* Homographs: Spell the same.
* Homonyms: Sound and Spell the same.