: one of two or more homographs (such as a bass voice and bass, a fish) that differ in pronunciation and meaning.

Heteronyms are words that are spelled identically but have different meanings when pronounced differently. For example: Lead, pronounced LEED, means to guide. However, lead, pronounced LED, means a metallic element.

Homophones are a type of homonym that also sound alike and have different meanings, but have different spellings. HOMOGRAPHS are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Heteronyms are a type of homograph that are also spelled the same and have different meanings, but sound different.

‘Progress’ is an example of a homograph – words that are spelt the same but pronounced differently and have different meanings.

[het-er-uh-nim] noun. a word spelled the same as another but having a different sound and meaning, as lead (to conduct) and lead (a metal).

Bruce M. Rowe and Diane P. Levin add, “Heteronyms are homographs that are not pronounced the same. The words tear (water in the eye) and tear (to rip) are heteronyms. Notice that the words homonym, homograph, homophone, and heteronym have overlapping meanings.”. (“A Concise Introduction to Linguistics,” 4th ed.

Dust would not be a heteronym. It functions as a verb and a noun, but it’s pronounced the same way in both usages. Heteronyms are not the same as homonyms, which have the same sound and spelling but different meanings. In contrast, homophones sound the same but are spelled differently.

Heteronyms are a type of homograph, which is a set of words that have the same spelling but differ in meaning and sometimes in pronunciation. Bruce M. Rowe and Diane P. Levin add, “Heteronyms are homographs that are not pronounced the same.