From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhomonymhom‧o‧nym /ˈhɒmənɪm, ˈhəʊ- $ ˈhɑː-, ˈhoʊ-/ noun [countable] technical SLa word that is spelled the same and sounds the same as another, but is different in meaning or origin. For example, the noun ‘bear’ and the verb ‘bear’ are homonyms. → homograph, homophone
Examples from the Corpus
homonym• Some lexical sets are also included, such as homographs and homonyms, compound nouns, and academic subjects.• The analyst has to ensure that any synonyms and homonyms are detected.• Ensure that synonyms and homonyms are recognised.• If the homonyms are the same part of speech, they are distinguished by superior numbers following the part-of-speech label.Origin homonym (1600-1700) Latin homonymum, from Greek, from homos ( → HOMO-) + onyma “name” 