ParaPro Assessment Complete Practice Exam 2026

Words that have the same spelling or sound but different meanings are known as homonyms. Homonyms encompass both homographs (which are spelled the same) and homophones (which sound the same). For example, the word "bat" can refer to a flying mammal or a piece of sports equipment. This dual meaning arises from the identical spelling and pronunciation of the word.

In contrast, the other terms refer to different linguistic concepts. Synonyms are words that have similar meanings, such as "big" and "large." Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, like "hot" and "cold." Therefore, the term that appropriately describes words with the same spelling or sound but different meanings is homonyms.