Explanation of
HOMONYMS, HOMOPHONES,
HOMOGRAPHS, and HETERONYMS

Buzzy Bee riddles are a play on the sound and spelling of words. This is easily done because many words in the English language sound alike or are spelled alike but have different meanings. Bee is spelled with two "e's" and therefore any words with the letters "b" and "e" are likely to have an extra "e" when misspelled by Buzzy. While the following words are spelled correctly, look for their misspellings in the Buzzy Bee riddles and Buzzy's "answers."

be beautiful because

become behave behind

beware maybe

What other words might Buzzy misspell? (Hint: look up "be" in the dictionary.)

Buzzy Bee riddles use misspelling to manipulate the meaning of words. Although not correctly spelled, these words might qualify as homophones (words that sound alike, but have a different spelling).

HOMONYMS are words that sound alike but have different meanings. 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.

WORDS THAT BOTH SOUND THE SAME AND ARE SPELLED THE SAME are both homonyms (same sound) and homographs (same spelling). Example: lie (untruth) and lie (prone); fair (county fair), fair (reasonable).

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