According to Professor Smirnitsky’s classification all homonyms may be divided into lexical homonyms which differ only in lexical meaning; lexico-grammatical homonyms which differ both in lexical and in grammatical meanings; grammatical homonyms which differ only in grammatical meaning. 3. Homonyms belonging to one and the same part of speech are called simple. Complex homonyms are those belonging to different parts of speech.
One of the main problems in Semasiology is the demarcation line between polysemy and homonymy, i.e. between different meanings of a polysemantic word and the meanings of different homonymous words.
To solve the problem a number of criteria may he applied: etymological and semantic criteria and the formal criteria of distribution, spelling and pronunciation. Sometimes only the combination of several criteria may solve the problem.
