Exploring Homographs PDF
Exploring Homographs PDF
Exploring Homographs PDF
There's no shortage of homographs in the English language, making them a fun topic to explore with your fourth
graders! In this lesson, students will become experts on distinguishing the different meanings of homographs.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to determine the meaning of common homographs using context clues and write
sentences showcasing their various meanings.
Attachments
Introduction (5 minutes)
Ask students if they have noticed that some words have more than one meaning. Invite them to share
any examples they know, and discuss the multiple meanings. As they share their ideas, and throughout
the rest of the lesson, write each homograph (just the word) on a sticky note and place it on the board to
be used later as an assessment.
Inform students that today they will learn about a type of word called homographs.
Show students the video on homographs (see related media).
Ask students to turn to a partner, name a homograph they noticed in the video, and describe each
meaning.
Tell students the word homograph has Greek origins because "homo" means same and "graphos"
means drawn or written in Greek. In other words, homographs are words that are spelled or written the
same but have different meanings. Sometimes the pronunciation is the same, and sometimes it is
different.
Ask students how they think people distinguish between the homographs when they read. Record student
responses on the chart paper (i.e., by using context clues or listening to what makes sense in the
sentence).
Distribute a copy of the Words with Double Meanings worksheet to each student.
Tell students they are to consider the meanings of the homographs on the worksheet and write a
sentence to go with each meaning.
Walk around to assist struggling students.
Differentiation
Support:
Students who need more time working with homographs may complete the Double Meaning: Practicing
Homographs worksheet in a small group, with the help of a dictionary.
Read aloud the book by Gene Barretta entitled Zoola Palooza: A Book of Homographs so they may see
more examples of homographs with visual aides.
Enrichment:
Encourage students to write a comical poem, using homographs, that they can share with the class.
Invite students to research puns that use homographs as an extension activity.
Give your early finishers and advanced learners the worksheet Hold the Homographs which challenges
them to come up with a homograph when given two separate definitions of the word (see optional
materials).
Assessment (5 minutes)
Provide students with a sticky note with a homograph on it from earlier in the lesson.
Instruct students to either write on the sticky note the definition of both meanings of the homograph or
write a sentence using both meanings and use it as their exit ticket.
Evaluate the quality of their definitions and sentences to gauge their level of understanding.
Challenge students to teach their families at home or a younger student during recess the definition of
homographs, along with a few examples.
Break
Track
Fire
Shop
Place
Set
Store
Homographs are words that look the same but have more than one
meaning, and sometimes more than one pronunciation. For Bat
example, there is an animal called a “bat”, and there is
also a “bat” that baseball players use to hit the ball.
Riddle Challenge!
Why was the picture sent to jail?