{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.homonymy","code":"thing-q21701659","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q21701659/","name":"homonymy","alternateNames":["homography"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.REL"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The relation between words that share the same form (spelling and/or pronunciation) but have unrelated meanings, such as bank (river) and bank (money); homography and homophony are related types.","purpose":"Let an agent handle homonymy by type, examples and disambiguation, supporting sense separation in dictionaries, registries and language technology.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Unrelated meanings","Shared form","Causes ambiguity","Resolved by context"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"type","name":"Type","description":"Which homonymy.","layers":[{"id":"kind","name":"Kind","description":"Homograph, homophone.","findings":[{"id":"kind-finding","name":"Kind","description":"Homonymy type.","questions":[{"text":"Is it homography, homophony or full homonymy?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are the forms?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"versus-polysemy","name":"Versus polysemy","description":"Related meanings.","findings":[{"id":"versus-polysemy-finding","name":"Versus polysemy","description":"Homonymy versus polysemy.","questions":[{"text":"Are the meanings unrelated or related?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What does etymology show?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"disambiguation","name":"Disambiguation","description":"Context.","layers":[{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Clues.","findings":[{"id":"context-finding","name":"Context","description":"Context clues.","questions":[{"text":"Which sense fits this context?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What clues support it?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"technology","name":"Technology","description":"NLP.","findings":[{"id":"technology-finding","name":"Technology","description":"Language technology.","questions":[{"text":"How do systems disambiguate word senses?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How accurate are they?","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"lexicography","name":"Lexicography","description":"Dictionaries.","layers":[{"id":"entries","name":"Entries","description":"Structure.","findings":[{"id":"entries-finding","name":"Entries","description":"Dictionary entries.","questions":[{"text":"Should these senses be separate entries or one entry?","kind":"action"},{"text":"How do major dictionaries treat them?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"registry","name":"Registry","description":"Thing registry.","findings":[{"id":"registry-finding","name":"Registry","description":"Registry senses.","questions":[{"text":"Does this registry entry mix homonymous senses?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How should they be split?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learning","name":"Learning","description":"Teaching.","layers":[{"id":"examples","name":"Examples","description":"Sentences.","findings":[{"id":"examples-finding","name":"Examples","description":"Examples.","questions":[{"text":"Which example sentences show the different meanings?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Are they clear?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"languages","name":"Languages","description":"Cross-linguistic.","findings":[{"id":"languages-finding","name":"Languages","description":"Other languages.","questions":[{"text":"How does homonymy work in other languages, such as through tones or characters?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources describe it?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Identify homonyms and distinguish their senses with sources.","Ask which sense is meant when a word is ambiguous."],"mustNot":["Choose one sense of an ambiguous word silently where the choice changes the meaning.","Present the homonyms of one language as applying in another.","Invent etymologies to explain homonyms."],"requiresHuman":["Resolving ambiguous wording in a contract, instruction or law."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Ambiguity in words can lead to misunderstandings with real costs.","Learners and translators rely on accurate distinctions."],"affectedParties":["Readers and learners","Translators"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a feature of language held in common.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q621461","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"symmetric relation","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"polysemy","type":"related","note":"related meanings"},{"target":"lexical semantics","type":"related","note":"field"},{"target":"word sense disambiguation","type":"requires","note":"task"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.homonymy","Wikidata: Q21701659 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21701659)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Same spelling or sound, unrelated meaning","Separate dictionary entries","Polysemy involves related meanings","Identical word forms with different meanings."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["identify homonyms","distinguish homonymy from polysemy","disambiguate senses in context","structure dictionary and registry entries"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Merging unrelated senses","Splitting related senses unnecessarily"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Lexicographic practice"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Distinguishing unrelated meanings that share a word form.","homographs","homophones","full homonyms","heteronyms"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q21701659: homonymy","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21701659","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Homonymy","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homonymy","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should homographs and homophones be separate entries?","How should registry senses be split?","How should etymology be used as evidence?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q21701659/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q21701659/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T10:18:59Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:57+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}