Homonymy refers to a linguistic phenomenon where two or more words have the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings. These words are called homonyms. Homonyms can be further classified into two types:
Homographs: These are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. For example, “bat” (the flying mammal) and “bat” (the equipment used in sports) are homographs because they are spelled the same but have different meanings.
Homophones: These are words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings. For example, “flower” (a plant) and “flour” (powdered grain) are homophones because they are pronounced the same but have different meanings.
Homonymy can sometimes lead to confusion in communication, especially in written language, where context is not always clear. However, context and understanding of the language usually help differentiate the meanings of homonyms in everyday communication.