Processing of Irregular Polysemes in Sentence Reading

Supplemental Materials Processing of Irregular Polysemes in Sentence Reading by A. Brocher et al., 2016, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000271

Relatedness and Dominance Scores for the Ambiguous Words

The items are listed together with their semantic relatedness scores (1 for “not related at all” to 7 for “the very same meaning”) and relative dominance scores (frequency of dominant meaning/sense relative to the subordinate meaning/sense).

Ambiguity Ambiguous Relatedness Dominance word Homonymy Ball 1.35 .92 Homonymy Band 1.30 .89 Homonymy Bank 1.45 .99 Homonymy Branch 1.30 .77 Homonymy Cabinet 1.55 .88 Homonymy Club 1.25 .91 Homonymy Coach 1.10 .91 Homonymy Fan 1.10 .74 Homonymy Habit 1.40 .92 Homonymy Horn 1.10 .72 Homonymy Jam 1.30 .95 Homonymy Navy 1.40 .83 Homonymy Pen 1.15 .98 Homonymy Poker 1.25 .95 Homonymy Punch 1.10 .70 Homonymy Racket 1.65 .94 Homonymy Seal 1.10 .81 Homonymy Suit 1.10 .91 Polysemy Belt 2.40 .90 Polysemy Clean 4.20 .92 Polysemy Cold 2.75 .92 Polysemy Diamonds 3.45 .99 Polysemy Film 3.95 .87 Polysemy Hammer 2.80 .96 Polysemy Hand 2.40 .87 Polysemy Load 3.30 .90 Polysemy Loop 2.75 .71 Polysemy Nest 4.05 .89 Polysemy Notes 3.00 .90 Polysemy Play 2.40 .76 Polysemy Saddle 2.30 .97 Polysemy Shade 2.75 .81 Polysemy Sour 3.75 .93 Polysemy Steam 4.05 .93 Polysemy Table 2.95 .93 Polysemy Wire 3.55 .82 3RETRIEVAL OF BIASED AND BALANCED IRREGULAR POLYSEMES

Material Sentences

The items are shown in the Context After condition, with the control word appearing in parentheses. See Table 2 and the article for further information on deriving the Context Before condition.

Polysemes

1a. Jack was cold (mean) all the time, even though Mary was friendly with anyone on the street.

1b. Even though the teacher was always cold (mean) in her class, she showed emotions at the graduation ceremony.

2a. Everybody agreed that the notes (tones) were clear enough, even though the orchestra had not practiced much.

2b. Because the critics cared about the notes (tones) quite a bit, the singer of the opera had to sing on key.

3a. Unfortunately the belt (screw) was virtually useless, because the engine of the car was of an old type.

3b. Frank had to buy a new belt (screw) at the store, after the motor of his truck started screeching.

4a. After Jennifer looked at the film (disc) for an hour, she only developed the pictures of her dog.

4b. Tom agreed the film (disc) was still valuable, despite the scratches on the surface.

5a. Because the wire (bomb) was well hidden, the skilled spy of the agency remained undetected. 4RETRIEVAL OF BIASED AND BALANCED IRREGULAR POLYSEMES

5b. When Mr. Jordan damaged the wire (bomb) in the lamp, the FBI aborted the top secret mission.

6a. Maria thought that the shade (pink) was very nice, since the color of the paint was bright and cheery.

6b. Eventually, the shade (pink) annoyed Mr. Brown, even though the artwork was famous and really expensive.

7a. Fortunately, his hand (mind) was strong enough, for winning rummy against his best friends.

7b. Susan opened her hand (mind) to her friend, complaining about the cards she was dealt for yet another round.

8a. The commentator thought the play (game) was very effective, when the quarterback called a different route.

8b. Most people missed the play (game) the night before, although the goalie made an amazing save at the end.

9a. Andreas contemplated the saddle (gorge) for a few minutes before he continued hiking to the next peak.

9b. Joan pointed to the saddle (gorge) in the picturelocated between the two mountains in the upper left corner.

10a. Because it was sour (nasty) at the time Brad tried it, the spoiled drink made him sick to his stomach.

10b. In addition to being sour (nasty) and artificially colored, the milk was very expensive at the store next door.

11a. Adam noticed the loop (skip) before anyone else, when the video played the same scene for the third time. 5RETRIEVAL OF BIASED AND BALANCED IRREGULAR POLYSEMES

11b. All of a sudden, the loop (skip) annoyed Christine, because the repetition of the track was bothersome.

12a. Staying in their nest (loft) for an entire week, the newlyweds enjoyed the quality time they had.

12b. Having barely left their nest (loft) in the winter, the married couple looked forward to their summer vacation.

13a. Ruth accepted the heavy load (task) with great reluctance, because the project would take the whole weekend.

13b. Fred was upset by the extra load (task) from his boss, because the stress did not seem to end.

14a. When the hammer (trigger) got stuck again, the pistol was abandoned by the clumsy assassin.

14b. When Jerry saw that the hammer (trigger) was very rusty, he sold the rifle from the gun rack for a cheap price.

15a. Svetlana was excited to have lots of diamonds (treasure) once again, while winning canasta at the Bellagio.

15b. The obnoxious gentleman threw the diamonds (treasure) on the table, after the blackjack dealer called for security.

16a. Doug inspected the table (report) with great concern, finding the numbers too small to read without glasses.

16b. After Pam assembled the table (report) in a big hurry, she found that the columns were unevenly spaced.

17a. Justin made sure that he was clean (ready) for the job interview, checking the drug test result one more time.

17b. Sue checked that her mom was clean (ready) for the family, before the rehab director approved the wedding trip. 6RETRIEVAL OF BIASED AND BALANCED IRREGULAR POLYSEMES

18a. Peter felt the steam (rage) in the room mounting, as the furious comments erupted from his girlfriend again.

18b. Joe is afraid of dealing with the steam (rage) at the office, because his cruel boss yells all the time.

Homonyms

1a. Cindy told her cousin about the racket (tenant) in the basement, thinking the noise level was atrocious.

1b. Tom said the racket (tenant) ruined his afternoon, because the earplugs didn't work at all.

2a. Last week the pen (zoo) was badly damaged, because the fences did not hold the animals.

2b. The director fixed the pen (zoo) in a big rush, because the goats were packed in too tightly for health standards.

3a. Actually, the ball (test) was finally moved, because attendance was well below average.

3b. No one cared much about the ball (test) at high school, because dancing at the night club was more fun.

4a. When Ken got to the bank (lake) close to his house, he swam in the water for an hour.

4b. Michael didn't like the bank (lake) in the suburbs, because the fishing was not very good.

5a. Everybody paid close attention to the horns (bones) during the visit, because the dinosaur was very exotic.

5b. Sophie thought that the horns (bones) were rather interesting, because the gazelle was unknown to her. 7RETRIEVAL OF BIASED AND BALANCED IRREGULAR POLYSEMES

6a. Although the coach (cabin) was very old, the seats were still quite comfortable.

6b. The new coach (cabin) caused some confusion, since all compartments overhead were way too small.

7a. Rebecca was annoyed with the navy (wool) yet again, even though the color matched her eyes beautifully.

7b. Although Karen disapproved of the navy (wool) without question, Chris bought the blue shirt anyway.

8a. Mr. Smith complained about the branch (clerk) to his wife, because the employee did not treat him with respect.

8b. When Sarah had trouble with the branch (clerk) earlier last week, the manager apologized for the incident.

9a. Kate made fun of the habit (skirt) of her friend, although the outfit looked good on her.

9b. Helen disliked the habit (skirt) since forever, because the fabric was terribly itchy.

10a. Ever since the punch (juice) at the gathering, all the glasses have a weird coating.

10b. Flora was surprised by the punch (juice) from Aunt Susan, being delicious and not too sweet at all.

11a. Inspecting the suit (proof) with great care, the lawyer decided to press charges.

11b. Even though the suit (proof) was very promising, the justice department did not pursue the case.

12a. After the poker (sword) was all over the news, Paula found the weapon in the woods nearby. 8RETRIEVAL OF BIASED AND BALANCED IRREGULAR POLYSEMES

12b. Melinda abandoned the poker (sword) with some disappointment, after it fell in the fireplace all of a sudden.

13a. Surprisingly, the cabinet (tourist) disappeared rather quickly, after listening to the president's speech.

13b. Loren thought that the cabinet (tourist) was too old, missing the democrat's cool fundraising party.

14a. Julia fell in love with the band (gold) right away, saying the ring was perfect for the wedding.

14b. Zachary checked out the band (gold) on the Web site, finding the jewelry outrageously expensive at the mall.

15a. David reluctantly stood next to a fan (dad) at the concert, amazed by the juvenile antics of this crazy person.

15b. The teacher noticed the odd fan (dad) by the window, after being stalked twice in the past.

16a. Boris told everyone about the club (gun) in the basement, describing a wooden stick with big metal spikes on it.

16b. News spread fast about the club (gun) at the haunted house, since the weapon had blood on it from a murder.

17a. Lucinda was delighted with the seal (logo) on the box, enjoying the chocolates inside for Valentine's Day.

17b. All the boys marveled at the seal (logo) for several minutes, touching the silver lettering and bold design.

18a. Lee was annoyed with the jam (bus) at the store, since the parking lot was fully packed.

18b. Tiffany complained about the jam (bus) at the diner, after the accident on the highway delayed traffic for hours.