However, lead, pronounced LED, means a metallic element. Compare heteronyms to homographs, homophones, and homonyms. Homographs are words that are spelled the same but differ in meaning, derivation, or pronunciation. Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, derivation, or spelling. Homonyms are words that are spelled and pronounced the same but have different meanings. There is overlap among these categories. Heteronyms are specific types of homographs in which the different pronunciations are associated with different meanings.