A word that has multiple meanings

English is a hard language, that contains several words with multiple meanings. Take a second (measurement of time) to consider all the words that have confused you with their second (placement, after something that has gone first) meaning. Learning these types of vocabulary can be complicated and for advanced English students, but we’ve broken it down into parts to make it easier for you to understand. 

Keep reading to learn about the kinds of words that have different meanings, like homophones, homonyms, homographs, and more!  

Words with Multiple Meanings

In English, when we refer to words with multiple meanings, we mean two words meaning that are spelled or pronounced the same but have different meanings. While these type of words may sound the same to you, they can change your speaking level! The three types of words that have different meanings are: 

A homonym is a case where two or more words sound the same but have completely different meanings.

However, some cases with similarities in words and pronunciations are homophones. These are considered to be words that sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings.

On the other hand, homographs are words that are spelt the same but have different pronunciations and meanings.

There are also Capitonyms, where the word changes its meaning when it’s either capitalized or not.

10 Homonym Examples

Don’t forget homonyms, are words that are spelled and pronounced the same in conversational English but have totally different meanings!

1. Address – Address

I can give you the address of a good Doctor. 

That man was addressing me in his speech.

2. Band – Band

The band was playing songs from the 80s.

She ties her hair up in a band.

3. Bat – Bat

I am scared of bats.

It’s his first time to bat in his baseball matches.

4. Match – Match

If you suspect a gas leak do not strike a match or use electricity.

Her fingerprints match those found at the scene of the crime.

5. Mean – Mean

What does this sentence mean?

He needed to find a mean of the data.

6. Right – Right

I’m sure my answer is right.

Take a right turn at the intersection.

7. Ring – Ring

What a beautiful wedding ring!

I heard the doorbell ring.

8. Rock – Rock

He formed a rock music band with some friends while in college.

To mine the ore, they had to dig through solid rock.

9. Rose – Rose

She has a beautiful rose garden.

Crime rates rose by 50% over the Festive season.

10. Spring – Spring

I’m sorry to spring it on you, but I’ve been offered another job.

My favourite season is spring.

10 Homophone Examples

Homophones are words that have different spelling and meaning, but the same pronunciation.

1. Fort – Fought

I will hold down the fort today.

He fought so many wars in his time.

2. Foul – Fowl

There was a foul stench in the air.

The farm had cattle such as fowl, sheep, and cows.

3. Groan – Grown

He let out a groan of pain

She has grown up so much.

4. Holy – Wholly

The priest pours holy water on the child’s head.

The incident was wholly the fault of the criminal.

5. Hour – Our

The concert was over an hour long.

We love our new home.

6. I – Eye

My sister had left to college when I was 25.

I hurt my eye.

7. Know – No

I already know what it means.

He said no.

8. Links – Lynx

The chain links are sturdy.

The lynx is a dangerous predator.

9. Meet – Meat

I do hope we can meet again soon.

I do not like eating meat anymore.

10. Peace – Piece

She hopes he rests in peace.

There was a piece of meat left in the stew.

10 Homograph Examples

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently, and also have another type of meaning.

1. Attribute

Many Scientists attribute the experiment’s success to the good specimens provided.

My physical attributes make me an ideal candidate for the job.

2. Abstract

He enjoys viewing abstract art.

Abstracts of about 300 words in your thesis.

3. Back

I’ll be back in a minute.

He stood with his back to the door.

4. Ball

Bounce the ball against the wall.

We had a ball of a time.

5. Can

Don’t worry, I can work from home.

I would really like a can of soda with my meal.

6. Capital

Cairo is the capital of Egypt.

Please write your details in capital letters

7. Date

The date on the email was incorrect.

They went on a date tonight.

8. Dessert

I like to eat my dessert, before my meal. 

I’ve never visited the Sahara dessert, but I’ve heard its scorching hot!

9. Effect

My abusive childhood had a significant effect on me.

Teachers need to effect change in their student’s learning.

10. Fine

I’m fine with pineapple on pizza.

Offenders will be liable to a hefty fine.

10 Capitonym Examples

China – china

China is a country

He displayed much fine china in his home

Divine – divine

The Divine Providence of God

To divine is to discover through intuition.

Earth – earth

The planet Earth

The earth en soil

March – march

The concert is in March

We will march forward

May – may

The match is happening in May

He may come to visit today

Mercury – mercury

The planet Mercury

The mercury in the thermometer is heating up.

Orient – orient

He comes from the Orient – in the Middle East

I will try to orient myself in this new area.

Polish – polish

He is of Polish descent

Please polish my shoes

Titanic – titanic

The sinking of the ship Titanic was a tragic event in history.

That mountain is titanic in size.

Turkey – turkey

I hope to visit Turkey someday.

I love turkey at thanksgiving.

Now you Know Words with Multiple Meanings, No?

Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, and Capitonyms are what make English a tricky and confusing language to learn. Many eager English students can be quickly scared off by these confusing words and rules. We have a great article on online writing courses to keep you going on your language journey.

Learning all the tricky and confusing aspects of English doesn’t have to be a daunting task, with English tutors that provide customized learning plans, you can learn in no time. Check out AmazingTalker find professional and affordable English tutors that are ready to help you learn all the tricky parts of English in a jiffy!

Asked by: Ruben Marquardt

Score: 4.1/5
(16 votes)

Definitions of polysemantic word. a word having more than one meaning. synonyms: polysemant, polysemous word. type of: word. a unit of language that native speakers can identify.

What is polysemy and it Examples?

polysemy Add to list Share. When a symbol, word, or phrase means many different things, that’s called polysemy. The verb «get» is a good example of polysemy — it can mean «procure,» «become,» or «understand.»

How do you use Polysemantic in a sentence?

RhymeZone: Use polysemantic in a sentence. Significant mentions of polysemantic: His paintings have been noted for being polysemantic . …is explained as a misdirected and irrelevant SA as an outcome of the functional deficiency of the polysemantic right-hemispheric way of thinking.

When a word has multiple meanings?

Homonyms, or multiple-meaning words, are words that have the same spelling and usually sound alike, but have different meanings (e.g. dog bark, tree bark).

What are made words examples?

Made-up Words

40 related questions found

Last Updated: February 24, 2022 | Author: Leroy Roberts

What are the 20 examples of homonyms?

Homonyms, Homophones, and Homographs

accept – take in	except – other than
real – factual	reel – roll
right – correct; not left	write – scribble
ring – encircle	wring – squeeze
road – street	rode – past tense of ride

•

Jul 16, 2019

What word has the most multiple meanings?

The word with the most meanings in English is the verb ‘set’, with 430 senses listed in the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, published in 1989. The word commands the longest entry in the dictionary at 60,000 words, or 326,000 characters.

What are 5 multiple meaning words?

List 1: bolt, bat, bowl, bat, bark, bowl, bark, bolt, bit, bit. List 2: clip, can, box, clip, can, club, club, box, check, check. List 3: eye, dip, down, down, dip, fair, dress, fair, dress, eye. List 4: foot, hard, gum, gum, fly, hard, file, fly, foot, file. List 5: hit, jam, last, left, last, hide, left, hide, jam, …

How do you teach words with multiple meanings?

1. Activity #1 Homophone Picture Match. Visuals are a great way to help your visual students to build a mental image of the homophones. …
2. Activity #2 Homophone Sort. Word sorts are also beneficial to students. …
3. Activity #3 Illustrate Two Meanings. …
4. Activity #4 Dig into Context. …
5. Activity #5 Write it in Context.

What word has 600?

According to Guinness World Records, the word that has the most meanings in the English language is the verb “set.” … The word has the longest entry in the dictionary at 60,000 words, which equals 326,000 characters.

How many definitions run?

The little word “run” — in its verb form alone — has 645 distinct meanings. Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, explains the rise of “run” and the decline of a formerly rich word, “set.”

What do you call a word with a lot of meanings?

Polysemy (/pəˈlɪsɪmi/ or /ˈpɒlɪsiːmi/; from Greek: πολύ-, polý-, “many” and σῆμα, sêma, “sign”) is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings.

What is polysemy in language?

Polysemy is characterized as the phenomenon whereby a single word form is associated with two or several related senses. It is distinguished from monosemy, where one word form is associated with a single meaning, and homonymy, where a single word form is associated with two or several unrelated meanings.

What does Guinness mean?

Definitions of Guinness. a kind of bitter stout. type of: stout. a strong very dark heavy-bodied ale made from pale malt and roasted unmalted barley and (often) caramel malt with hops. English stage and screen actor noted for versatility (1914-2000)

What English word has no vowels?

Words with no vowels. Cwm and crwth do not contain the letters a, e, i, o, u, or y, the usual vowels (that is, the usual symbols that stand for vowel sounds) in English. But in those words the letter w simply serves instead, standing for the same sound that oo stands for in the words boom and booth.

What does Hyponym mean?

Hyponymy shows the relationship between a generic term (hypernym) and a specific instance of it (hyponym). A hyponym is a word or phrase whose semantic field is more specific than its hypernym. The semantic field of a hypernym, also known as a superordinate, is broader than that of a hyponym.

How do you say Polysemic?

Is bank a polysemy?

One word that’s famously polysemous is “bank.” You can choose a pronunciation for this adjective with stress on the second or third syllable since most dictionaries give both. Polysemous is a word lover’s favorite, since it’s about the meanings of words — lots of them in this case.

What is a Cuttery?

cutting instruments collectively, especially knives for cutting food. utensils, as knives, forks, and spoons, used at the table for serving and eating food. the trade or business of a cutler.

What is the hyponyms of red?

For instance, the words pink, scarlet, orange, hot pink, and pumpkin . . . are all more marked, specific terms for colors that derive from the color red… These words share many of the semantic properties of the word red. Because these words form a subclass of the word red, they are referred to as hyponyms of red.

What is hypernym and synonym?

is that synonym is (semantics|with respect to a given word or phrase) a word or phrase with a meaning that is the same as, or very similar to, another word or phrase while hypernym is (semantics) a word or phrase whose referents form a set including as a subset the referents of a subordinate term.

What do Cutlers do?

a person who makes, sells, or repairs knives and other cutting instruments.

Is a spoon cutlery?

Cutlery includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. … The major items of cutlery in Western culture are the knife, fork and spoon.

Is cutlery a common word?

It’s a perfectly normal, though perhaps not overly common, word to me in all varieties of English.

What is a cutler in England?

cutler in British English

(ˈkʌtlə ) noun. a person who makes or sells cutlery. Collins English Dictionary.

If you are learning English online, you probably already know there are many reasons why it isn’t the easiest language to learn. It includes plenty of phrasal verbs, many irregular conjugations and some truly unpredictable pronunciation rules. What’s more, just because two words are spelled and pronounced the same, doesn’t always mean they have the same definition.

For example, if I have a novel idea, that doesn’t mean that the idea I’m speaking about comes from a novel, or storybook (in fact, it means quite the opposite – that my idea is very original)! 

Sometimes you can determine what these words mean through context. Or to make life easier, you could simply read our guide to commonly used words that look the same, but hold different meanings.

What do you call words with multiple meanings? 

Two words spelled the same but with different meanings are called homographs. 

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but may or may not be pronounced differently. 

Words that are spelled and pronounced the same, but have different meanings, are called homonyms. 

Below are some examples of homographs with different pronunciations and homonyms, or words pronounced the same.

Homographs: examples of words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently

Bow /bəʊ/

• (noun) A knot tied with two loops – usually used when tying shoelaces or wrapping gifts.

She tied her hair up with ribbon and made a little bow.

• (noun) A weapon used in archery to propel arrows.

Pierre slung the bow and arrows over his shoulder and trudged into the forest.

Bow /baʊ/

• (verb) To bend the upper part of the body to show respect.

When Mae meets her grandparents, she always bows to greet them.

Lead /liːd/

• (verb) To direct someone, to cause someone to follow

My father doesn’t like Simon. He thinks he’s leading me astray.

N.B.: People often confuse the past tense of lead. Led is the past tense, not lead.

• (noun) A person or route that enables one to access information.

We finally have a lead in this case – the man we just interviewed says he knew the victim!

Lead /lɛd/

• (noun) A poisonous, soft and malleable metal that was used in pencils.

Car batteries and ammunition are often made with lead.

Row /rəʊ/

• (noun) A straight line going across horizontally

The row in the table indicates the country and each column indicates the number of awards received each year.

• (noun) A line of seats in the theatre.

My tickets show that I am in Row C.

• (verb) Using two oars to propel a boat.

Lee wakes up every morning at 5am to practice rowing.

Row /raʊ/

• (noun – British informal) A quarrel

Priya and Puja often row about who gets to play video games.

Homonyms: examples of words that are spelled and pronounced the same

Bark

• (noun) The outer layer of a tree 

Tree bark is used to make paper. 

• (verb) A sound a dog makes.

The dog’s bark was so vicious that I ran away, terrified. 

Nail

• (noun) The hard surface on the tips of your fingers.

She went to the salon to get her nails done.

• (noun) A small metal spike with a flat tip drilled into wood to join things together.

Claire drilled a nail into the wall to hang up a picture.

• (verb – US informal) To get something completely correct, or to make no errors.

I nailed that exam – it was far too easy!

Novel

• (noun) A fiction book.

“The Grapes of Wrath” is John Steinbeck’s best novel.

• (adjective) Something new or original.

The steam engine was a novel invention that changed the way people traveled.

Season

• (noun) Changes in the weather marked by shifting temperatures. These include summer, winter, spring and autumn.

My favorite season is winter because the snow is so magical.

• (verb) To enhance the flavor of a dish by using spices like basil, cumin, turmeric, paprika etc.

The recipe says to season the dish with plenty of salt and pepper.

Squash 

• (verb) To crush or squeeze something (generally to destroy it). Can be used literally or metaphorically.

She squashed my dreams of ever becoming a famous singer.

• (noun) A family of vegetables with hard orange or green shells.

My dad made butternut squash soup for dinner.

Racket

• (noun) A piece of equipment used when playing tennis – i.e. a tennis racket.

I hate carrying my racket around when I have tennis practice – it’s so huge and annoying.

• (noun) A load, unpleasant noise-causing disruption.

I couldn’t sleep with the racket coming from the party next door.

Words with multiple meanings: annoying but also pretty funny  

Phew, the English language can be complicated, right? In fact, English is said to have almost twice the number of words as most Latin-based languages. Add to that the fact that many common words have multiple meanings, and you might want to throw out your textbooks in despair. 

Don’t get too frustrated though. It can be confusing that many words have multiple meanings, but it’s also a source of comedy. In English, it’s very easy to make jokes that exploit the fact that a word means two different things.

For example, “To the guy who invented zero, thanks for nothing.” This is funny because “thanks for nothing” is a sarcastic expression that means “I’m annoyed at you because you haven’t helped me at all,” and at the same time, “nothing” is a synonym for “zero.” Jokes that rely on words with multiple meanings are called puns. Listen out for them next time you’re watching a comedy show in English!  

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Polysomy.

«Polysemia» redirects here. For the moth genus, see Polysemia (moth).

Polysemy ( or ;^[1][2] from Ancient Greek πολύ- (polý-) ‘many’, and σῆμα (sêma) ‘sign’) is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses.^[3] Polysemy is distinct from monosemy, where a word has a single meaning.^[3]

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. 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. 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).

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the three most polysemous words in English are run, put, and set, in that order.^[4][5]

Polysemes[edit]

A polyseme is a word or phrase with different, but related, senses. Since the test for polysemy is the vague concept of the relatedness, judgments of polysemy can be difficult to make. Because applying pre-existing words to new situations is a natural process of language change, looking at words’ etymology is helpful in determining polysemy but not the only solution; as words become lost in etymology, what once was a useful distinction of meaning may no longer be so. Some seemingly unrelated words share a common historical origin, however, so etymology is not an infallible test for polysemy, and dictionary writers also often defer to speakers’ intuitions to judge polysemy in cases where it contradicts etymology.^{[citation needed]} English has many polysemous words. For example, the verb «to get» can mean «procure» (I’ll get the drinks), «become» (she got scared), «understand» (I get it) etc.

In linear or vertical polysemy, one sense of a word is a subset of the other. These are examples of hyponymy and hypernymy, and are sometimes called autohyponyms.^[6] For example, ‘dog’ can be used for ‘male dog’. Alan Cruse identifies four types of linear polysemy:^[7]

• autohyponymy, where the basic sense leads to a specialised sense (from «drinking (anything)» to «drinking (alcohol)»)
• automeronymy, where the basic sense leads to a subpart sense (from «door (whole structure)» to «door (panel)»)
• autohyperonymy or autosuperordination, where the basic sense leads to a wider sense (from «(female) cow» to «cow (of either sex)»)
• autoholonymy, where the basic sense leads to a larger sense (from «leg (thigh and calf)» to «leg (thigh, calf, knee and foot)»)

In non-linear polysemy, the original sense of a word is used figuratively to provide a different way of looking at the new subject. Alan Cruse identifies three types of non-linear polysemy:^[7]

• metonymy, where one sense «stands for» another (from «hands (body part)» to «hands (manual labourers)»)
• metaphor, where there is a resemblance between senses (from «swallowing (a pill)» to «swallowing (an argument)»)
• other construals (for example, from «month (of the year)» to «month (30 days)»)

There are several tests for polysemy, but one of them is zeugma: if one word seems to exhibit zeugma when applied in different contexts, it is probable that the contexts bring out different polysemes of the same word. If the two senses of the same word do not seem to fit, yet seem related, then it is probable that they are polysemous. This test again depends on speakers’ judgments about relatedness, which means that it is not infallible, but merely a helpful conceptual aid.

The difference between homonyms and polysemes is subtle. Lexicographers define polysemes within a single dictionary lemma, while homonyms are treated in separate entries, numbering different meanings (or lemmata). Semantic shift can separate a polysemous word into separate homonyms. For example, check as in «bank check» (or Cheque), check in chess, and check meaning «verification» are considered homonyms, while they originated as a single word derived from chess in the 14th century. Psycholinguistic experiments have shown that homonyms and polysemes are represented differently within people’s mental lexicon: while the different meanings of homonyms (which are semantically unrelated) tend to interfere or compete with each other during comprehension, this does not usually occur for the polysemes that have semantically related meanings.^{[8][9][10][11]} Results for this contention, however, have been mixed.^{[12][13][14][15]}

For Dick Hebdige,^[16] polysemy means that, «each text is seen to generate a potentially infinite range of meanings,» making, according to Richard Middleton,^[17] «any homology, out of the most heterogeneous materials, possible. The idea of signifying practice—texts not as communicating or expressing a pre-existing meaning but as ‘positioning subjects’ within a process of semiosis—changes the whole basis of creating social meaning».

Charles Fillmore and Beryl Atkins’ definition stipulates three elements: (i) the various senses of a polysemous word have a central origin, (ii) the links between these senses form a network, and (iii) understanding the ‘inner’ one contributes to understanding of the ‘outer’ one.^[18]

One group of polysemes are those in which a word meaning an activity, perhaps derived from a verb, acquires the meanings of those engaged in the activity, or perhaps the results of the activity, or the time or place in which the activity occurs or has occurred. Sometimes only one of those meanings is intended, depending on context, and sometimes multiple meanings are intended at the same time. Other types are derivations from one of the other meanings that leads to a verb or activity.

Examples[edit]

Man

1. The human species (i.e., man vs. other organisms)
2. Males of the human species (i.e., man vs. woman)
3. Adult males of the human species (i.e., man vs. boy)
4. (As a verb) to operate or constitute a vehicle or machine (To man a ship)

This example shows the specific polysemy where the same word is used at different levels of a taxonomy.

Bank

1. a financial institution
2. the physical building where a financial institution offers services
3. to deposit money or have an account in a bank (e.g. «I bank at the local credit union»)
4. a supply of something held in reserve: such as «banking» brownie points
5. a synonym for ‘rely upon’ (e.g. «I’m your friend, you can bank on me»). It is different, but related, as it derives from the theme of security initiated by 1.

However: 1 is borrowed from Italian banco, a money lender’s bench, while a river bank is a native English word. Today they can be considered homonyms with completely different meanings. But originally they were polysemous, since Italian borrowed the word from a Germanic language. The Proto-Germanic cognate for «bank» is *bankiz.^[19] A river bank is typically visually bench-like in its flatness.

[edit]

A lexical conception of polysemy was developed by B. T. S. Atkins, in the form of lexical implication rules.^[20] These are rules that describe how words, in one lexical context, can then be used, in a different form, in a related context. A crude example of such a rule is the pastoral idea of «verbizing one’s nouns»: that certain nouns, used in certain contexts, can be converted into a verb, conveying a related meaning.^[21]

Another clarification of polysemy is the idea of predicate transfer^[22]—the reassignment of a property to an object that would not otherwise inherently have that property. Thus, the expression «I am parked out back» conveys the meaning of «parked» from «car» to the property of «I possess a car». This avoids incorrect polysemous interpretations of «parked»: that «people can be parked», or that «I am pretending to be a car», or that «I am something that can be parked». This is supported by the morphology: «We are parked out back» does not mean that there are multiple cars; rather, that there are multiple passengers (having the property of being in possession of a car).

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Joordens S, Besner D (1994). «When banking on meaning is not (yet) money in the bank: Explorations in connectionist modeling». Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 20 (5): 1051–1062. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.20.5.1051.
• Kawamoto AH, Farrar WT, Kello CT (1994). «When two meanings are better than one: Modeling the ambiguity advantage using a recurrent distributed network». Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 20 (6): 1233–1247. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.20.6.1233.
• Borowsky R, Masson ME (1996). «Semantic ambiguity effects in word identification». Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 22: 63–85. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.22.1.63.
• Jastrzembski JE (1981). «Multiple meanings, number of related meanings, frequency of occurrence, and the lexicon». Cognitive Psychology. 13 (2): 278–305. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(81)90011-6. S2CID 54346331.
• Rubenstein H, Garfield L, Millikan (1970). «Homographic entries in the internal lexicon». Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior. 9 (5): 487–494. doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(70)80091-3.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• O’Sullivan; et al. (1994). Key Concepts in Communication and Cultural Studies. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-06173-5.
• Jamet, Denis (Ed.) (2008) «Polysemy», 1st issue of Lexis, E-Journal in English Lexicology.

External links[edit]