While English is nothing like Japanese in this regard, it’s worth keeping in mind that English does have its fair share of homophones and homonyms.
Homonyms (look the same when read, as well as sounding the same when spoken)
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Have you ever seen a crane that would crane its neck while operating a crane?
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If you say you’ve eaten a date while on a date, you may be dating yourself.
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Our group at work was engaged after our boss got engaged.
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If you want to play in the fallen leaves, you’d best wait until the gardener leaves.
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Being nice to the fishermen could net you a free net.
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You may have a point that it’s not nice to point with objects having a sharp point.
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If I’m right, the door on the right leads to the document enumerating my rights.
Homophones (sound the same when spoken)
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I ate eight pieces.
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That band was banned.
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I was stranded because I spent my bus fare at the fair.
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I read the red book.
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Can you see the sea?
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(and so many more)
Granted, none of this is like Japanese where every kanji and its cousin (こうsin?) is pronounced こう. But you can see that spelling (for homophones) and context (for homonyms) is very much common in English as well as Japanese.