What is a characteristic of homographs?

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. This characteristic is what defines them and helps distinguish them from other types of homonyms. For example, the word "lead" can refer to the metal or to be in charge of something. This duality is essential for understanding the complexities of the English language and how context can impact the interpretation of a word.

The other options describe different linguistic phenomena. Words that are spelled differently but have the same meaning would fall under synonyms. Words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently are known as homophones. Unrelated words do not share any spelling, pronunciation, or meaning, which is contrary to the concept of homographs, as the latter specifically focus on identical spelling and varied meanings.