Homonyms

In linguistics, a homonym is one of a group of words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings, whether spelled the same or not. A more restrictive definition sees homonyms as words that are simultaneously homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of their pronunciation) and homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of their spelling).The relationship between a set of homonyms is called homonymy.

Example :

• Accept (to receive) and Except (excluding)
• Ad (advertisement) and Add (short for addition)
• Affect (to influence) and Effect (result)
• Aid (to assist) and Aide (an assistant)
• Air (stuff we breath) and Heir (one who will inherit)
• Aisle (walkway) and Isle (island)
• Allusion (an indirect reference) and Illusion (a misconception)
• Ant (insect) and Aunt (parent's sister)
• Capital (city) and Capitol (wealth and resources)
• Days (more than one day) and Daze (to bewilder)
• Die (to become dead) and Dye (coloring agent)
• Emigrate from (leave one country) and Immigrate to (enter another country)
• Gorilla (large ape) and Guerrilla (military soldier)
• Knead (working bread dough) and Need (must have)
• Mail (postal delivery) and Male (masculine person)
• Than (a comparison) and then (shows time)
• There (a place) and Their (belongs to them) and They're (they are)
• To (a preposition) and Too (an adverb) and Two (a number)
• Your (possessive pronoun) and You're (you are)

Although included in the above list from Weber State University, several of these words are not technically homonyms. They are spelled the same and have different meanings; but, they don't sound the same if pronounced correctly:

• Accept and except
• Affect and effect
• Than and then
• Elicit and illicit
• Emigrate and immigrate

 References :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homonym

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-homonyms.html

polysemy

Polysemy

Polysemy is the association of one word with two or more distinct meanings. A polyseme is a word or phrase with multiple meanings. Adjective: polysemous or polysemic.

A polyseme the phenomenon of having or being open to several or many meanings.When a word has several very closely related senses or meanings.Polysemous word is a word having two or more meanings. For example, foot in : - He hurt his foot ; - She stood at the foot of the stairs.

Polysemy is the existence of several meanings for a single word or phrase. The word polysemy comes from the greek words πολυ-, poly-, “many” and σήμα, sêma, “sign”. In other words it is the capacity for a word, phrase, or sign to have multiple meanings i.e., a large semantic field. Polysemy is a pivotal concept within the humanities such as media studies and linguistics.

A word like walk is polysemous:

1. I  went walking this morning
2. We went for a walk last Sunday
3. Do you walk the dog every day?
4. I live near Meadow Walk Drive
5. The wardrobe is too heavy to lift; we’ll have to walk it into the bedroom (move a large object by rocking).
6. She walks the tower (to haunt a place as a ghost).
7. The workers threatened to walk (to go on strike).
8. Walk with God! (to live your life in a particular way)

References

grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/polysemyterm.htm

http://www.afv.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161:polysemy-a-homonymy&catid=121:miscellaneous&Itemid=352

http://learningcommunity-akbar.blogspot.co.id/2009/11/homonimy-polysemy-and-hyponymy.html

Hyperbole

Hyperbole

          a way of speaking or writing that makes someone or something sound bigger, better, more, etc. than they are: The ​blurb on the back of the ​book  was ​full of the ​usual hyperbole - "​enthralling", "​fascinating", and so on.

           We use hyperbole /haɪˈpɜ:bəlɪ/ to exaggerate. We sometimes do this to emphasise something, to add humour or to gain attention. When we use hype rbole, we often make statements which are obviously untrue

Example 

• My grandmother is as old as the hills.
• Your suitcase weighs a ton!
• She is as heavy as an elephant!
• I am dying of shame.
• I am trying to solve a million issues these days.
• I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
• I have a million things to do.
• I had to walk 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill.
• I had a ton of homework.
• If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.
• He is as skinny as a toothpick.
• This car goes faster than the speed of light.
• That new car costs a bazillion dollars.
• We are so poor; we don’t have two cents to rub together.
• That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding on a dinosaur.
• They ran like greased lightning.
• He's got tons of money.
• You could have knocked me over with a feather.
• Her brain is the size of a pea. 

References

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hype...

literarydevices.net/hyperbole/

examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-hyper...