Homonymy refers to a linguistic phenomenon where two or more words share the same spelling or pronunciation but have different meanings. For example, the word bat can refer to a flying mammal or a piece of sports equipment used in baseball. This can sometimes lead to confusion in communication, as the intended meaning may not be clear without additional context. In English, homonyms can be categorized into two types: homographs, which are words that are spelled the same but may have different pronunciations and meanings, like lead (to guide) and lead (a type of metal), and homophones, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings, such as pair (a set of two) and pear (a type of fruit).