Multiple Meaning Words
Sort words by their two different meanings.
Words
Match
How to run it
Ask for the second meaning after each sort. The card gives one sense; the student supplies the other, which is the actual work. Then ask for a sentence for each meaning, since a word's two senses are only genuinely separate when they can be used separately. Ten minutes covers the twelve with the second-meaning step.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintGive a clue about the word's category, what it does, or where you find it.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelGive the answer in a sentence; the student says it back and uses it once more.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer items and start with the ones the student already knows.
Ask for the word in a sentence of the student's own, or a second example from the same group.
Matching IEP goal
Given vocabulary cards, Student will name, sort or define target words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve words each shown with one of their meanings: bat as a flying animal, bark as a dog sound, fly as an insect, ring as a phone sound, light as not heavy, pitcher as a baseball player, trunk as part of a tree, glasses as things you drink from, spring as a season. Every one has at least one other meaning, and the gap between them is a quiet source of comprehension failure.
What to listen for
Watch which words have a dominant meaning that blocks the other. Bat as an animal and bat as a sporting object are equally frequent for most children; pitcher as a jug is far less available than pitcher as a player to a child who plays baseball. The blocked meaning is the one to teach. Notice whether the student can shift senses when given a sentence, which is the skill reading demands.
Carrying it home
Multiple meanings are a rich source of jokes, which is the easiest way in. Asking what else a word can mean, when one comes up, takes five seconds and children enjoy the ambiguity.
What's in this activity
- a flying animal
- a dog sound
- an insect
- a phone sound
- not heavy
- a baseball player
- part of a tree
- things you drink from
- to leave a car
- to look at
- a season
- mail you send
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second through fifth, where multiple-meaning words start causing comprehension trouble.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, all twelve words play free.
- Why do multiple meanings cause problems?
- Because a reader selects a meaning automatically and rarely revises it. A student who reads pitcher as a baseball player in a passage about lemonade will keep going with the wrong sense and be baffled by the rest.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.