homonym

He included the bite mark for scale to set the apple apart from similar round fruit like cherries -- learning only later it was a homonym for the computer term "byte".

From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026

Another popular hashtag they use is “address book,” a near homonym for “homosexual” in Chinese, which has also spawned the offshoot keywords “female notebook” or “male notebook.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024

“This is really problematic,” Trinkle says, pointing out a word that has a homonym with a similar definition.

From Washington Times ● May 29, 2023

The other constant is a sticky rice cake or nian gao, a homonym for "grow higher every year".

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2023

CAN=title of culture-hero: KUKUL-CAN=the divine can, homonym of can=serpent.

From The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations by Zelia Nuttall

For more information about homonyms, see “Words and Language.”

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

One such riddle relies on synonyms and homonyms, requiring the solver to climb through both literal and metaphorical definitions to arrive at the eventual answer: poetry itself.

From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

A young man biked around the court wearing a pig mask and military hat, referencing homonyms for the accused TV host’s name.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2020

The homonyms apparently provide for a cheeky play on words for students at the University of Memphis, a state school in the same southern city.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2020

If you now think that you would rather confront a herd of Profoundly Outraged Elephants in a Perilously Oscillating Elevator than hear another word about homonyms, acronyms, or any other kind of nyms—well, think again.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood