Dictionary writers often list polysemes (words or phrases with different, but related, senses) in the same entry (that is, under the same headword) and enter homonyms as separate headwords (usually with a numbering convention such as ¹bear and ²bear).Ī polyseme is a word or phrase with different, but related, senses. In discerning whether a given set of meanings represent polysemy or homonymy, it is often necessary to look at the history of the word to see whether the two meanings are historically related. Polysemy is distinct from homonymy-or homophony-which is an accidental similarity between two or more words (such as bear the animal, and the verb bear) whereas homonymy is a mere linguistic coincidence, polysemy is not. For example, a word can have several word senses. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings. Polysemy ( / p ə ˈ l ɪ s ɪ m i/ or / ˈ p ɒ l ɪ s iː m i/ from Greek: πολύ-, polý-, 'many' and σῆμα, sêma, 'sign') is the capacity for a sign (e.g. For the moth genus, see Polysemia (moth). Noun: A special type of flower that is famous for its beautiful shape and smell, usually given on romantic occasions e.g.'Polysemia' redirects here. we rose from our seats when the President walked in. Verb: This is the irregular past simple form of the verb ‘to rise’, which means to move upwards e.g. Verb: To have a good time or do a specific activity (play sport, play a musical instrument) e.g. We’re going to Broadway to watch that famous play! Noun: A performance by actors usually shown in theatres e.g.

We’ve been working all morning, let’s take a coffee break. Noun: A recess or pause in an activity, usually used as time to relax e.g. I broke my watch I need to get it repaired. Verb: To damage or change something so that it no longer works e.g. If you don’t tie your shoelaces you will trip and fall! Verb: This is the action of joining two things together by using a knot or band e.g. Our company policy is for men to wear a shirt and tie to business meetings. Noun: You most commonly come across this noun very often – a tie is the very common item of clothing that men wear around their neck with a shirt and suit e.g. Noun: The noun ‘bark’ is what we call the outer covering of a tree e.g. The dog must be hungry! He keeps barking! Verb: The verb ‘to bark’ is the sound a dog makes e.g. There are many instances where you cannot avoid using a word that seems identical to another, different word, for example, read and read: They look exactly the same, but the pronunciation changes the tense completely! And that’s not where it ends!Įnglish words can have different meanings depending on the part of speech – The word ‘keep’ can be a verb or a noun, and the word ‘fancy’ could be an adjective or a verb depending where you’re from!Īs a student this makes the English language seem impossibly frustrating and confusing! Take a look at the image that shows how many different ways we can use common words like ‘run’ and ‘take’! Below that you’ll find 6 more handy words that have more than one meaning: Having a ready database of homonyms, homophones and homographs is essential to communicating properly in English. In English we often use words that sound exactly the same to express totally different concepts, these are called homophones. We also use words that have the same spelling but have different meanings depending on the context, these are called homonyms. And if that’s not confusing enough, we also have homographs – which are words that have the same spelling, but different pronunciation (and meaning). Sounds like a lot right? But it's actually way more, if you consider that many words have multiple meanings. Over a million words make up the English language.

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