Homophone
Etymology
From Greek homos ("same") + phōnē ("sound, voice"), so literally "same sound." The parts spell out the definition: homophones are words that agree in sound while diverging in sense. English is full of them, largely because its spelling froze while its pronunciation kept moving.
noun · /HOM-uh-fohn/
A word that sounds identical to another but differs in meaning and usually spelling.
What it names
The trap that spellcheck can’t catch — words your ear can’t tell apart, so "their," "there," and "they’re" all pass the sound test.
Example
The autocorrect swapped "peace" for "piece," a homophone the software heard but didn’t understand.
Related idea
A homophone matches by sound; a homograph matches by spelling. "Rose" the flower and "rose" (stood up) are both — a homograph you can also hear as a homophone.