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

“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

A math equation refers to its creator, Alexander Friedmann, whose surname is a homonym for “free man.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2022

The word chac is often used in local names in Yucatan, and usually means either “water” or “red,” as it is a homonym with several significations.

From The Maya Chronicles Brinton's Library Of Aboriginal American Literature, Number 1 by Daniel Garrison Brinton

Here are some common homonyms and their meanings:

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

Of course, she meant to say “locking” rather than “baking,” but this is precisely what is so tricky about acronyms and homonyms.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood