baa, bah

The words baa, bah sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do baa, bah sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: baa, bah are homophones of the English language.

baa
  1. :: verb-intransitive

    To make a bleating sound, as a sheep or goat.

  2. :: noun

    The bleat of a sheep or goat.

bah
  1. :: interjection

    Used to express impatient rejection or contempt.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").