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What is the difference between a homonym and homophone?

The terms "homonym" and "homophone" are often confused, but they have distinct meanings:

Homophone:

* Definition: Words that sound the same when spoken, but have different spellings and meanings.

* Example: "to," "too," and "two" all sound alike but have different meanings and spellings.

Homonym:

* Definition: A broader term that includes both homophones and homographs.

* Homograph: Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations.

* Example: "bat" (the animal) and "bat" (a piece of equipment used in baseball) are homographs and therefore also homonyms.

In summary:

* Homophones are a subset of homonyms, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings.

* Homonyms include both homophones and homographs.

Here's a table for better visualization:

| Term | Definition | Example |

|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|

| Homophone | Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings | "to", "too", "two" |

| Homograph | Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations | "bat" (animal) and "bat" (baseball) |

| Homonym | Words that are either homophones or homographs, meaning they can be either spelled or pronounced the same but have different meanings | "to", "too", "two", "bat" (animal), "bat" (baseball) |

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