What do you call words that sound alike but are spelled differently?

The term used for words that sound alike but are spelled differently is homophones. Homophones are a specific type of homonym and refer to words that have the same pronunciation but differ in meaning and spelling. Examples include "pair" (a set of two) and "pear" (the fruit), as well as "two," "to," and "too." This linguistic phenomenon is essential in various aspects of language, including puns, poetry, and language development.

Alliteration, on the other hand, refers to the repetition of the initial consonant sounds in a series of words, often used for stylistic effect in writing. Polysemous words are those that have multiple meanings but are spelled the same, such as "bat" (the flying mammal) and "bat" (a piece of sports equipment). Monosyllables are words that consist of only one syllable, like "cat" or "dog," and do not relate to the concept of sound-alike words that differ in spelling.