Homonyms have become the catch-all terms to cover not only homonyms, but their close cousins, the homograph and the homophone.
The 3 terms – homophone, homograph and homonym —refer to words that have the same pronunciation, or they have the same spelling (or both) but they differ in their meaning
Homophones – homo=same, phone = sound. These are different words, sometimes spelled alike, that sound the same. Bear and bear; pair and pear.
Homographs – homo=same, graph=writing – are words that although they may be spelt the same, have different meaning and may or may not be pronounced the same way, for example compact– a small items, compact – a make-up holder Spelt the same, pronounced the same. Wound, as in an injury and wound, as in turned, spelt the same, pronounced differently.
Homonyms – homo=same nyms=names – means homophones or a name for words that are both homophones and homographs —alike in both spelling and pronunciation
However, homonyms have come to mean all three of these terms, and we understand homonyms to be a words that sound the same, are spelled the same, or both.