homonymy.

Shared pronunciation or spelling between distinct words with unrelated meanings, under the terminology being used.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• lexical homonymy
• homonymy and polysemy

On the page

The account used bank for money and bank beside a river to illustrate lexical homonymy.

The dictionary analysis distinguished homonymy from related meanings grouped under polysemy.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: language analysis, sense distinction, word formation analysis, precise reference. Disciplines: academic writing, linguistics, dictionary and usage analysis. Commonness: uncommon.