How to Differentiate Between Homonyms and Polysemes
Homonyms and polysemes are terms for word pairs that sound the same but mean different things. The term "homonym" is more general, and a polyseme is a type of homonym. The term "polyseme" can only be used when the two similar-sounding words are spelled exactly the same, while the term "homonym" applies to any two words that sound the same. Differentiating between the two simply requires knowing the spelling of the words in question.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Identify the homonym pair. For example, in the sentence "Brian was allowed to speak his thoughts aloud", the words "allowed" and "aloud" are homonyms because they sound exactly the same. They're just spelling differently.
-
2
Examine the spelling. If the words are spelled differently, such as with "allowed" and "aloud", then they are homonyms, not polysemes. Homonyms that are spelled differently are also called "homophones".
-
-
3
If the words are spelled the same, examine the meaning. For polysemes, make sure a word actually has two different meanings and that the word isn't merely being repeated. For example, in the sentence "Susan wanted to stand in the same place she saw her brother stand", the two instances of "stand" have the same meaning. However, "Susan wanted to stand next to the music stand" does use two words with the same spelling, each having a different meaning. The two "stand"s do have two different meanings, and thus represent a pair of polysemes.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Some dictionaries define "homonym" and "homophone" as interchangeable words while others consider "homophone" to refer only to words that sound the same but are spelled differently.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images
More Like This
Comments
-
Very clear and easy-to- undestand explanation of homonym and polysemy. Example sentences are also excellent. They are very helfful to expanding your vocabulary. As the example sentences are easy to understand from context, they will be saved in your long-termmemory. As a matter of fact, the best way to increase your word power is consulting ghood dictionaries which contain clear definition of the word you are loooking for and list various example senences. If the word origin is added, it would be much better.
