Most natural languages have hundreds of homographs: “a word that is spelled the same as another word, usually having a different etymology.”
Take the three English words row, each with a different etymology and meaning.
Esperanto, by design, started with no homographs, but as other people besides its creator used the language and added words, some homographs have crept in.
I did a quick search on Esperanto Etymology to identify all the words with two different etymologies and meanings.
| Esperanto | Etymology | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| devizo | Pol. dewiza, Ger. Devise, Fr. devise, It. divisa | motto, slogan, maxim |
| devizo | Rus. девиз, Lit. devizas, Ger. Devise, Fr. devise, It. divisa | foreign currency; foreign exchange |
| kanono | It. canone, Lat. canon | canon (rule, church canon, accepted body of works) |
| kanono | Ger. Kanone, Fr. canon, It. cannone, Eng. cannon | cannon (artillery piece) |
| mato | Pol. mata, Ger. Matte, Eng. mat | mat, matting, floor mat |
| mato | Yid. mat, Rus. мат, Lit. matas, Ger. Matt, Fr. mat, It. matto | checkmate; mate (in chess) |
| mino | Rus. мина, Lit. minas, Pol. mina, Ger. Mine, Fr. mine, It. mina, Eng. mine | explosive mine |
| mino | Ger. Mine, Fr. minière, It. miniera, Eng. mine | mine (excavation for minerals) |
| radio | Rus. радио, Lit. radijas, Pol. radio, Ger. Radio, Fr. radio, It. radio, Eng. radio | radio |
| radio | Ger. Radius, Eng. radius, Lat. radius | radius |
| raketo | Rus. ракета, Lit. raketa, Pol. rakieta, Ger. Rakete, It. racchetta, Eng. rocket | rocket |
| raketo | Rus. ракета, Lit. rakete, Pol. rakieta, Ger. Rakett, Fr. raquette, It. racchetta, Eng. racket | tennis racket, badminton racket, etc. |
| veto | Yid. vet, Ger. Wette | bet, wager |
| veto | Ger. Veto, It. veto, Eng. veto | veto |
