Originally Posted by Lynne Hand I always thought that homophones are words with
different meanings that sound the same, but are spelt differently and
homonyms are words with different meanings that sound different, but are
spelt the same.
So a homophone would be – There was a mail from a male.
And a homonym would be – The bandage was wound around the wound.
:? PS You can practice your homophones here.
Yes, but homonym is also the name for the larger
category. Thus, all homophones are homonyms, but not all homonyms are
homophones. If you use homonym to talk about a subcategory of
homonyms you create unnecessary confusion. After all, both homophones and
homonyms are homonyms. That confusion is unnecessary because you can call
that subcategory heteronyms, and that word is already in use.