Which term refers to words that sound the same but have different meanings?

The term that refers to words that sound the same but have different meanings is homophones. Homophones are pairs of words (or sometimes more) that sound identical when spoken yet differ in meaning and often spelling. For example, the words "to," "two," and "too" are homophones—each word has a distinct meaning despite being pronounced the same way.

In contrast, synonyms are words that have similar meanings, such as "happy" and "joyful." Homographs, meanwhile, are words that are spelled the same but may not necessarily sound the same and have different meanings, like "lead" (to go in front) and "lead" (a type of metal). Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings, such as "hot" and "cold." Each of these terms serves a different function in language, but homophones specifically highlight the interesting phenomenon of identical pronunciation accompanying differing meanings.