RIC-20235 Primary Grammar and Word Study Year 3 – Understanding and choosing words

Understanding and
choosing words
Homographs
Focus
Homographs
Definition
• Homographs are words that are spelt the same but
have different meanings.
Example:
light – the opposite of heavy
light – pale in colour; e.g. light blue
(Note: There are more than these two meanings for
‘light’.)
Sometimes homographs are pronounced differently.
Example:
tear (rhymes with deer)—a drop of water
that falls from your eye; and tear (rhymes with
dare)—to rip a page out of a book
Explanation
• Recognising and using different homographs
develops and enriches students’ vocabulary. They
learn to understand the meaning and application of
words and the way they work in print.
Worksheet information
• As an introduction, give two quiz questions to the
students to demonstrate two different meanings for
the same word.
Example:
Question 1: What is another word for a large
stone? Question 2: What can you do with a baby
in a cradle?
Ask them to guess the word (rock) and discuss the
different meanings. Students may suggest other
meanings for ‘rock’, such as a type of music (rockand-roll).
• Once completed, discuss the students’ answers for
Question 1 as a class.
• In Question 2, students are given one definition
of various homographs. The answer is in the
wordsearch. Once each homograph is found,
students then write another meaning for each word
on the lines provided. Dictionaries could be used to
assist. Again, discuss students answers as a class as
there are more than two meanings for many words.
• The word ‘wind’ in 2. (d) is an example of a
homograph that has different pronunciations.
Discuss this with the students before they complete
Question 3.
Ideas for further practice
• Students compile a class homograph dictionary
for reference. Students brainstorm to list a specific
number of words and arrange them in alphabetical
order. A word can be written at the top of a page
with two or more definitions underneath.
• Hold a competition to see which group can come up
with the most meanings for a homograph.
Answers
1. (a) Possible answer: A device for keeping you
cool, such as a fan.
(b) Possible answer: A piece of wood or metal
used for support, such as a fence post.
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Possible answers:
(a) a device for writing with
(b) a score of zero in cricket/ to lower yourself
down suddenly
(c) a shape with a circular, flat bottom with
sides that meet at the top with a point/the
edible wafer of an ice-cream
(d) to suddenly have shortness of breath/gas
from the stomach or bowel
(e) healthy or well/a monetary penalty paid for
doing something wrong
(f) jewellery worn on your fingers/a boxing ring
(g) in a sloping position/to rest against
something for support
3. wind (rhymes with ‘kind’): to wind up a clock or
similar/a track that turns one way then another