The Role of Context in Understanding Polysemy in the English Language
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Polysemy is one of the fundamental phenomena of the English language, referring to the existence of several related meanings within a single lexical unit. Understanding polysemous words requires more than knowledge of their dictionary definitions because their intended meanings frequently depend on the linguistic and situational contexts in which they occur. This article examines the role of context in interpreting polysemy in English, focusing on the relationship between lexical meaning, grammatical structure, surrounding words, and communicative situations. It discusses the principal types of context, including linguistic, situational, and cultural context, and illustrates their importance through examples of commonly used English polysemous words. The article also considers the implications of contextual interpretation for vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, translation, and English language teaching. The analysis demonstrates that context serves as a key mechanism for identifying the appropriate meaning of polysemous words and reducing ambiguity in communication.
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225644128
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