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Polysemy refers to a single word with more than one meaning. The multiple meanings are listed under one entry in a dictionary. For example, the word dish has multiple meanings, but they're all under one entry (as a noun) in a dictionary:
Dish (noun)
Both meanings of dish imply some kind of 'food being served'. They're related by sense but have different definitions.
Another example of a polysemous word is wing:
Wing (noun)
Again, both meanings refer to 'a section that sticks out from the main body'. The definitions are different but related to each other.
The term polysemy comes from the Greek words poly and sēma which together mean 'many signs'. The opposite of polysemy is monosemy. Monosemy is when one word has only one meaning.
Polysemy is related to homonymy (one word that has multiple meanings but is pronounced and/or spelt the same). Additionally, because polysemous words have more than one meaning, they can cause lexical ambiguity. This can happen when someone hears/reads something without the same frame of reference or contextual information as the speaker/writer. For example, 'Let's go to the bank!' isn't clear. Does this mean 'a river bank' or 'a financial institution'?
Take a look at the sentences below and find one word that they all have in common:
All five sentences use the same verb serve. Although each sentence carries a different sense of serve, they all imply the same meaning of 'giving service':
Some other examples of polysemy include:
Important to know: One fundamental characteristic of polysemous words is that all the different meanings are associated in related senses. Because of this, polysemous words often have denotative and connotative meanings. For instance: Head: of a body (denotative) and the person at the top of a company (connotative). Bright: shining (denotative) and intelligent (connotative). Run: to move fast on foot (denotative) and manage (connotative).
Take a look at this excerpt from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (1623) (Act 5, Scene 3) below and analyze the polysemous meaning of the word gallery:
LEONTES
O Paulina,
We honor you with trouble: but we came
To see the statue of our queen: your gallery
Have we pass'd through, not without much content
In many singularities; but we saw not
That which my daughter came to look upon,
The statue of her mother
[...]
PAULINA
As she lived peerless,
So her dead likeness, I do well believe,
Excels whatever yet you look'd upon
Or hand of man hath done; therefore I keep it
Lonely, apart. But here it is: prepare
To see the life as lively mock'd as ever
Still sleep mock'd death: behold, and say 'tis well.
The word gallery has several different meanings:
At the first glance, you may think the gallery that Shakespeare refers to is 'the corridor to display art' (meaning 1). However, after analyzing Paulina's remark on Leontes, the interpretation of gallery is likely to be a 'crypt/catacomb' (meaning 3). Paulina compares the statue of Hermione to a 'funerary monument' (her dead likeness), instead of a piece of artwork (Sabatier, 2016).
Study tip: Polysemous words are often tricky to interpret. The meaning of the word that the author wants to express can sometimes be “hidden” under another meaning that is more familiar to us. Pay attention to the tone, setting, and context of the prose to fully grasp the author's “real” meaning.
If you read or hear two words that are written or pronounced the same but have different meanings, they are likely to be either an example of polysemy or homonymy. Deciding what kind of relationship the two words have can be challenging, but not once you understand the differences between these terms.
Polysemy
Take the word address.
First, analyse the multiple meanings and word class. Address has two meanings and two different word classes:
Second, if the words have multiple forms (multiple entries in a dictionary), eg a verb and noun, they are homonyms. If the two words stem from a single form (one entry in a dictionary), eg a verb or noun, they are polysemies. The word address has two word forms: a verb and a noun. This proves that address is a homonym.
Third, check if the different meanings are related. The two meanings of address ('to speak to' and 'a location') are not related. This further proves that address is a homonym.
In contrast, the word bright ('shining' and 'intelligent') is an example of polysemy because it only has one form (adjective) and both meanings are related. Take a look at the diagram below.
Fig. 1 - Homonymy involves unrelated meanings, whereas polysemy involves related meanings.
There are, however, some words that are both example of polysemy and homonymy, such as date.
To explain the difference, let's take the word mouse.
Polysemy describes one word with more than one meaning.
Because the word mouse has multiple meanings it can cause lexical ambiguity: "Do you mean the animal mouse or the computer device?" Hyponymy describes a super and subordinate relationship between words.
Hence, even if the word mouse is used without a specific reference to the house mouse or field mouse, it still indicates the animal mouse. It doesn't cause lexical ambiguity with the other meaning of mouse (a computer device).
Fig. 2 - Mouse can refer to a computer device.
Fig. 3 - Mouse can refer to the animal.
Based on these two different concepts, we can conclude that:
Bring me the mouse!
¹ A. Sabatier, Shakespeare and Visual Culture, (2016).
Polysemy refers to a single word with more than one related meaning. The multiple meanings are listed under one dictionary entry.
Some examples of polysemy are get - receive, bring, move / travel; bank - of a river / canal, a place to deposit money, a slope; and light - of colors, not heavy, not serious.
Monosemy is the opposite of polysemy. Monosemy refers to a word that has one meaning only.
Polysemy illustrates a single word with many related meanings (one dictionary entry), eg, get - receive, bring, travel / move. Homonymy is about words that have different meanings and multiple dictionary entries but are spelled and / or pronounced the same, eg rose - a flower & increased.
Polysemy explains a word (under one dictionary entry) with more than one related meaning (eg get - receive, bring, travel / move). Hyponymy describes a super- and subordinate relationship between words (eg dog - poodle, labrador, pomeranian).
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