Heteronym: spell it the same, say it differently
For a long time, I’ve kept my ear (and eye) out for heteronyms: words that are written the same but said differently. Homonyms are easy to spot - things like chip (food, processor), or bark (dog, tree) - but heteronyms are sneaky and you don’t notice them as easily. Fiddly things like windy, present, read, or close.
It always strikes me they must make English a pain to learn - “what do you mean read can be said as red or reed??! How’m I supposed to know that??”
A few other common ones (try to spot both pronunciations, it’s a little like the old out-cube/in-cube Necker illusion ): bow, does, dove, import, lead, project, refuse, sow, tear, minute…
Also known as a homograph (homo - same, graph - writing)
Hat tip to Richard Stevens for his nifty vintage-style heteronym list
