The term homonymy is derived from

Greek homonymous[homos], which

means the same and [onoma], which
means name and expresses very well
the sameness of name combined with
the difference in meaning. Two or more
words identical in sound and spelling
but different in meaning, distribution
and (in many cases) origin are called
homonyms.
ball any round object;
ball a gathering of people for dancing;
bow [bou] a weapon for shooting arrows;
bow [bau] a bending of the head or body;
bank a shore ;
bank an institution for receiving, lending,
exchanging, and safeguarding money;
 Modern English has a very extensive
vocabulary; the number of words
according to the dictionary data is no
less than 400, 000.
Walter Skeat classified homonyms
according to theirspelling and sound
forms and he pointed out three groups:
 absolute (perfect) homonyms is
words identical in sound and spelling;
become those words that are spelt and
pronounced alike, but are different in
meaning

relative homonyms can be grouped

into homographs and homophones:
1. homographs are words different in
pronunciation but equivalent in spelling
2. homophones (most of which are
monosyllabic) are different in spelling
but similar in their pronunciation
 - row a series of - air heir
people or things - ball bawl
arranged in a - boy buoy
straight line - cereal serial
- row a noisy - find fined
argument,
behaviour or
activity
 phonetic changes which words
undergo in the course of their
historical development
A borrowed word may, in the final
stage of its phonetic adaptation,
duplicate in form either a native word
or another borrowing
 Word-building also contributes
significantly to the growth of
homonymy, and the most important
type in this respect is undoubtedly
conversion.
Shortening is a further type of word-
building which increases the number of
homonyms.
Words made by sound-imitation can
also form pairs of homonyms with
other words
 Inlinguistics, ahomonymis one of a
group of words that share the same
pronunciation but have different
meanings, whether spelled the same
or not. A more restrictive definition
sees homonyms as words that are
simultaneously homographs (words
that share the same spelling,
regardless of their pronunciation)
and homophones (words that share
the same pronunciation, regardless of
their spelling) that is to say they
have same
pronunciationandspelling, but
different meanings.
 Glass breaks easily. The crown of a
He drank a glass of king.
milk. The crow of a hat.
A loud noise. The dim light of a
A loud tie. candle.
A low ceiling. A dim recollection.
A low voice. Silver is a precious
metal.
A low fellow.
A pocketful of
silver.
Table silver.
 Glass :
- A hard, brittle substance, typically transparent
or translucent, made by fusing sand with soda
and lime and cooling rapidly. It is used to
make windows, drinking containers, and other
articles.
- A drinking container made from glass
Loud :
- Producing or capable of producing much noise
- - Strong or emphatic
Low :
- Situated not far above the ground, the
horizon, or sea level
- that speaks in a low voice, soft-spoken
- Ranking below other people
 Crown :
- A circular ornamental headdress worn by a
monarch as a symbol of authority, usually made
of or decorated with precious metals and jewels
- The top part of a person's head or a hat
Dim :
- not shining brightly or clearly
- Not clearly recalled or formulated in the mind.
Silver :
- A precious shiny greyish-white metal, the
chemical element of atomic number 47
- Coins made from silver or from a metal that
resembles silver
- A shiny grey-white colour or appearance like
that of silver
 Band a company of musicians
Seal a warm-blooded, fish-eating,
sea-animal, found chiefly in cold regions
Ear the grain-bearing spike of a cereal
plant, as in corn
Cut the result of cutting
To bore to make a long round hole,
esp. with a pointed tool that is turned
round
Band = A flat, thin strip or loop of material, used as a
fastener, for reinforcement, or as decoration.
wads of banknotes fastened with gummed paper
bands
Seal = A thing regarded as a confirmation or
guarantee of something.
the monarchy is the seal of the unbroached integrity
of the Isles
Ear = The organ of hearing and balance in humans
and other vertebrates, especially the external part of
this.
Cut = Ignore or refuse to recognize (someone)
they cut her in public
To bore = A person whose talk or behaviour is dull
and uninteresting.
he can be a crashing bore