Homonyms are words that have the same pronunciation and the same spellings but different meanings.
So simply put, homonyms are words that look and sound the same but have different meanings.

An easy way to remember this is to remember that the prefix ‘homo’ means same and the suffix ‘nym’ means name – so the words have the same name.

For example:

➜ I hit the ball with a bat. 🦇

➜ The bat has big wings. 🏏

These words are homonyms because they sound the same and have the same spellings but mean different things.

In the first sentence, ‘bat’ refers to the animal, and in the second sentence, the ‘bat’ refers to the sports equipment. 

Sentence examples: 

Orange is a homonym. As a noun, it refers to the fruit. As an adjective, it refers to the colour orange.

➜ Lucy ate an orange. 🍊

➜ The leaves are orange. 🎨

Letter is a homonym. It is a noun that can refer to a symbol characterising a sound used in speech. It can also refer to a form of communication in which words are written or typed.

➜ The postman posted the letters this morning. 💌

➜ I can write all the letters in the alphabet. 🔤

Watch is a homonym. As a noun, it refers to a timepiece worn on one’s wrist. As a verb, it means to look at or observe something for a period of time.

➜ Dan bought a new watch. ⌚️

➜ I like to watch TV in my free time. 👀