20 words that are spelled the same but have different meanings

There are plenty of words in the English language that are spelled the same but have completely different meanings.A baseball bat and the nocturnal animal bat are considered a homonym because they are spelled and sound the same but have different meanings.An airy wind and to wind down are homographs, as they are spelled the same way but they are pronounced differently and mean different things.It's no secret that the English language can be tricky. For anyone learning the language, it's difficult to grasp all the drastic differences a single word can have.People most get tripped up on words that are too similar. When words are spelled the same and sound the same but have different meanings, then they are called homonyms. When they are just spelled the same but sound different and have different meanings, then they are homographs.Here are some of the most popular homonyms and homographs in the English language.BatWhen used as a noun, a bat could be a winged, nocturnal animal or a piece of sporting equipment used in baseball. It can also be used as a verb when a player goes up to bat during a baseball game.CompactWhen used as an adjective, "compact" means small, but when used as a verb, it means to make something smaller. It can also be used as a noun when talking about a small case for makeup.DesertAs a noun, "desert" is a dry, barren area of land where little rain occurs. When used as a verb, the word means to abandon a person or cause.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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