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HETERONYM

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | 501 words | Copyright

HETERONYM, also heterograph. A WORD that is spelt the same as another, but has a different meaning and often pronunciation. There are three heteronyms in the following passage: ‘Heteronyms must incense foreign learners! I can't imagine a number feeling than if they spent hours learning a common English word, a minute little word, then found a second meaning and pronunciation!’ (opening to ‘Heteronyms’, David Bergeron, English Today 24, Oct. 1990). See HOMONYM, -ONYM.

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