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How to Teach a Second Grader Words That Have Two or More Meanings

Vocabulary words often have more than one meaning. For example, the word "ring" can mean the ring of a phone or the ring worn on a finger. In second grade, students learn that some words have multiple meanings and that context can change the meaning of a sentence. Teaching second-graders to understand words with two or more meanings will improve their reading skills.

Instructions

    • 1

      Explain to the second grader about identical twins, telling them that while they look alike they are two different people. Using this example analogy from the website "Learning Today," can help a second grader who is starting to learn words with more than one meaning or "twin" words.

    • 2

      Relate the twin analogy to words by giving the second grader examples from their word list. The word "fair" is one of the second grade level vocabulary words according to the website "Flocabulary." Explain to the child that the word fair might mean pretty or it can mean a yearly event. Write two sentences using a word in two different contexts to show how the word changes meaning. For example, "She was a fair young maiden" and "I went to the fair yesterday."

    • 3

      Give the child words from her second grade vocabulary list to look up in the dictionary. For example, have her look up the word "train" from her spelling or vocabulary lists. Have her identify two or more different meanings for each word as given by the dictionary and write a sentence for each meaning. For example, "The train sped by," and "I will train my dog to sit."

    • 4

      Make a worksheet with sentences that include words from the second grade spelling lists the class has previously learned that have more than one meaning. Write two sentences for each word leaving a blank for the word. Under the sentences provide four words from the spelling or vocabulary list including the correct choice and have students fill in the answers.

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