Heteronyms - Words that are spelled identically but have different meanings.

Affect can have two different meanings, depending on whether it is used as a noun or a verb.

As a verb, it means to influence or change things.
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As a noun, it can be used to describe the outward sign of an emotion, such as "He had a gloomy affect." This is probably mainly used in medical descriptions, also in acting.

Merriam Webster: Definition of affect (Entry 2 of 3)


1 [ German Affekt, borrowed from Latin affectus ] : the conscious subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes also : a set of observable manifestations of a subjectively experienced emotion … patients … showed perfectly normal reactions and affects … — Oliver Sacks
 

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