words spelled same different meanings
1 Homophones (literally same sound) are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled. 2  If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally different writing).
For homonyms in scientific nomenclature, see Homonym (biology) . In linguistics, a homonym is a word that has different meanings. In the strict sense, one of a group of words that share the same spelling and pronunciation but have different meanings.