The words braid, brayed sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do braid, brayed sound the same even though they are completely different words?
The answer is simple: braid, brayed are homophones of the English language.
To interweave three or more strands, strips, or lengths of in a diagonally overlapping pattern: braided the rags into a strong rope.
To create (something) by such interweaving: braid a rug.
To style (the hair) by such interweaving.
To mingle (discrete elements, for example) as if by such interweaving: braided the ideas into a complex thesis.
Past participle of bray
Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition, from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License and Wordnik.
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").