mind, mined

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

The answer is simple: mind, mined are homophones of the English language.

mind
  1. :: noun

    The human consciousness that originates in the brain and is manifested especially in thought, perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination.

  2. :: noun

    The collective conscious and unconscious processes in a sentient organism that direct and influence mental and physical behavior.

  3. :: noun

    The principle of intelligence; the spirit of consciousness regarded as an aspect of reality.

  4. :: noun

    The faculty of thinking, reasoning, and applying knowledge: Follow your mind, not your heart.

mined
  1. :: verb

    Simple past tense and past participle of mine.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition, from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 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").