Tools for Instruction
Multiple-Meaning Words
Vocabulary knowledge is measured not only by how many words are known, but also by how many meanings
are known. Oftentimes, a word’s meaning depends on how it is being used in a particular context. This is
especially true of words that have multiple meanings. For instance, a word that is within students’ listening
vocabulary, such as head, might become unfamiliar when used in the phrase to head home. To help students
become independent readers, provide frequent exposure to common multiple-meaning words, and model using
context clues to determine word meaning.
Step by Step 20–30 minutes
1 Introduce and explain the concept of multiple meanings.
• Display the following sentences, and read them aloud.
I love to pet my kitten’s soft fur.
That boy has a puppy as a pet.
• Ask students to identify which word they see and hear in both sentences. (pet) Invite a student to
demonstrate the meaning of pet in the first sentence, using gestures. Then invite another student to tell the
meaning of pet in the second sentence.
• Say, Sometimes a word can have more than one meaning. We call these multiple-meaning words. We use clues in
the sentence to figure out which meaning is the right one.
• Review the meanings of pet. Point out that in the first sentence, to pet is an action and in the second
sentence, a pet is a thing.
2 Model figuring out a new meaning for a known word.
• Display the following sentence, and model thinking aloud about a meaning for light that makes sense.
I am going to wear a light jacket because it is warm out today.
A “light jacket”? I know that a light is anything that makes things brighter so that we can see. When we turn on
a light, the room goes from dark to bright. It doesn’t make sense that a jacket would have a light in it, though.
This word must have multiple meanings. I’ll look for clues to this meaning of light. The sentence says it is warm
out. I know that I don’t like wearing a big, thick jacket when it is warm outside, because I get too hot. A light
jacket must be one that is not thick and heavy.
• Invite students to suggest new sentences using the word light. Discuss the meaning of the word in each
sentence and how the context clues give hints. (Before I go to bed, I turn off the light. My brother thought
the box was too heavy for me to carry, but it felt light. I woke up so early it wasn’t even light out yet.)
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Tools for Instruction
3 Guide practice with interpreting meanings.
• Display a sentence containing a target multiple-meaning word, such as trip. Then display three sentences
using the same target word. Only one of the sentences should use the target word in the same way as the
original sentence.
My family is taking a trip to New York.
• If you do not tie your shoelaces, you will trip.
• We planned a trip to visit the Grand Canyon.
• I trip sometimes if I don’t watch where I’m going.
• Point to and read aloud each sentence, emphasizing the multiple-meaning word. Have volunteers act out
each sentence. Then guide students to choose the sentence in which the target word has the same meaning
as it does in the original sentence.
4 Provide independent practice with interpreting meanings.
Connect to Writing Display sentence pairs for the words stick and play. Underline the target word in each sentence.
stick
• My stick broke.
• Be careful, gum will stick to your hair!
play
• I want to sing and act in a play.
• Puppies love to play with toys.
• Have pairs of students use clues in each sentence to decide on the meaning of the underlined word. Then
prompt students to write, draw, or act out the meaning to demonstrate their understanding.
• For additional challenge, invite students to suggest new sentences that convey at least two meanings for the
target words can and bark.
Check for Understanding
If you observe... Then try...
difficulty using context clues to determine the new having students paraphrase, draw, or act out each
meaning of a known word sentence to demonstrate understanding. Point out
how other words in the sentence give clues about the
meaning of the target word. Then ask students to find
clues that help them understand multiple-meaning
words in simple sentences:
• My grandma wears rings on her fingers.
(clue: on her fingers)
• The alarm hurts my ears when it rings.
(clue: hurts my ears)
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