Homophones and homographs are words that share similar characteristics in terms of pronunciation or spelling but have different meanings.

• Homophones: These are words that sound the same but have different meanings and usually different spellings. The word "homophone" itself comes from the Greek words homos (same) and phone (sound).

  Examples:

  • there, their, and they're
  • to, too, and two
  • see and sea

• Homographs: These are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations. The word "homograph" comes from the Greek words homos (same) and graph (write).

  Examples:

  • bass (a type of fish) and bass (the low-pitched part of music)
  • tear (a drop of liquid from the eye) and tear (to rip)
  • close (to shut) and close (nearby)