Word Puzzles: Homonyms with Same Sound or Different Spelling Solutions

Two word puzzles were presented earlier today. Below are the puzzles along with their solutions.

The first puzzle involves words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently.

A homonym is defined as a word that shares pronunciation or spelling with another word but has a different meaning.

For instance, the letter ‘a’ has the homonym ‘eh’.

Notably, ‘eh’ does not contain the letter it represents; there is no ‘a’ in ‘eh’.

Readers are asked to identify five other letters in English that have homonyms not containing the letter they sound like.

(One of these homonyms may be obscure unless familiar with Caribbean geography or crossword puzzles.)

The five letters, excluding ‘a’, spell a common word. What is that word?

The author considered a sixth letter, X, whose homonym ‘Ecks’ is the plural of Eck, a Scottish diminutive of Alex. However, proper names are excluded per Scrabble rules.

The second puzzle involves words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently.

Find the homonyms below. Each meaning pair describes a word spelled identically but pronounced differently. The words are listed alphabetically.

(Second option) (Switch back and forth)

(Fruit and vegetables) (Generate)

The author hopes readers enjoyed the puzzles. ‘Eyal bee Bach inn too weak’s.’

Sources for the puzzles are Gerry Reynolds and Ryan McCormack.

The column has been presenting puzzles on alternate Mondays since 2015. Readers who have suggestions for future puzzles are encouraged to email the author.