Polysemy, or the property of words having multiple meanings, is a prevalent feature of vocabulary. In this study we validated a new measure of polysemy knowledge for children with English as an additional language (EAL) and a first language (EL1) and examined the relationship between polysemy knowledge and age, language status, and reading comprehension. Participants were 112 British children aged 5 to 6 (n = 61) or 8 to 9 years (n = 51), 37% of whom had EAL (n = 41). Participants completed the new measure of knowledge of polysemes, along with other measures of language, literacy and cognitive ability. The new measure was reliable and valid with EAL and EL1 children. Age and language status predicted children's polyseme knowledge. Polyseme knowledge uniquely contributed to reading comprehension after controlling for age, language status, non-verbal intelligence, time reading in English, and breadth of vocabulary. This research underscores the importance of polysemy for children's linguistic development.

中文翻译：

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测量以英语为第一语言和第二语言的儿童对多个词义的了解以及与阅读理解的关系

多义性，或具有多重含义的词的属性，是词汇的普遍特征。在这项研究中，我们验证了一种新的多义知识测量方法，适用于英语作为附加语言 (EAL) 和第一语言 (EL1) 的儿童，并检查了多义知识与年龄、语言状态和阅读理解之间的关系。参与者是 112 名 5 至 6 岁（n = 61）或 8 至 9 岁（n = 51）的英国儿童，其中 37% 患有 EAL（n = 41）。参与者完成了多义词知识的新测量，以及语言、读写能力和认知能力的其他测量。新的措施对 EAL 和 EL1 儿童是可靠和有效的。年龄和语言状态预测儿童的多义词知识。在控制了年龄、语言状态、非语言智力、英语时间阅读和词汇量。这项研究强调了多义词对儿童语言发展的重要性。