CBT-English

VOCABULARY SUITE

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Frame 1

Which meaning do you mean?

HomographsWords with multiple meanings

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Frame 2

Meanings:

1 A financial institution that accepts deposits and channels the money into lending activities

2 A slope of land beside a body of water3 Tilt while turning

Many English words have more than one meaning. For instance, the word bank. Click on bank to know what it means.

1 My father saves his money in the bank.2 We sat on the bank of the river and watched the currents.3 The pilot had to bank the plane to avoid the birds.

(For each item, show a picture with the sentence. The student clicks on the word and the definition appears. Possible audio complement: A voice reads the sentence, then when the word bank is clicked, reads the meaning.)

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Frame 3

(Flash rapidly across the screen these homographs, showing each with two or more meanings):

BAT (picture of flying mammal)BAT (picture of baseball bat)FLY (picture of the insect)FLY (picture of a bird flying)PEN (picture of the writing implement)PEN (picture of a pigpenROCK (picture of a big stone)ROCK (picture of baby being rocked to sleep)

Bank is just one of the many words in English that have more than one meaning. These words are called multiple-meaning words or homographs.

(Audio: Student clicks on “multiple-meaning words” and “homographs” to hear how they are pronounced.)

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In this lesson you will:

• Define what a homograph is• Identify the homograph being referred to in various contexts• Use context clues to identify the meaning of a homograph in

a text.

Frame 4

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What are homographs?

A homograph is one of two or more words that have the same spelling but differ in meaning, origin, or sometimes pronunciation. Homographs can be used in different ways, depending on the surrounding words, known as the context.

Play the Homograph Jeopardy and find out what homograph is

referred to by the clues.

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100 100 100

200 200 200

300 300 300

(Homograph Jeopardy: This game is adapted from The TV game Jeopardy. Use a 3 x 3 grid with rows of 100, 200, and 300, respectively.

When the student clicks on 100, e.g., an item appears. Each item has a window for typing the answer. After typing the answer, the student clicks on “Submit” and the feedback appears. The user then clicks on “Continue” and is taken back to the grid to select the next cell. The used cell has a smiley if answered correctly and a “frownie” if incorrectly answered. Below the grid is a running scoreboard.)

Kat, can this be done? If not a simpler game may be devised.

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Item 1 (100)

A spinning toy OR the opposite of bottom

SUBMIT CONTINUE

TOP

(When student clicks “Submit”, the feedback window appears. Clicking on “Continue” takes the student back to the Jeopardy grid. See sample feedback for Item 1 below. )

(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is TOP. A top is a toy that you spin. Top is also a word the means the opposite of bottom. Click “Continue”.

(Homograph Jeopardy items. See sample format below.)

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Item 2 (100)

To move through the air OR a type of insect

SUBMIT CONTINUE

FLY

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is FLY. Birds and planes can fly or move through the air. Fly is also the name of an insect. Click “Continue”.

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 3 (100)

Goes away OR the green parts of a tree

SUBMIT CONTINUE

LEAVES

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is LEAVES. When someone leaves, he or she goes away. Leaves also refer to the green parts of a tree that fall. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 3 (100)

Goes away OR the green parts of a tree

SUBMIT CONTINUE

LEAVES

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is LEAVES. When someone leaves, he or she goes away. Leaves also refer to the green parts of a tree that fall. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 4 (200)

Opposite of heavy OR opposite of dark

SUBMIT CONTINUE

LIGHT

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is LIGHT. Something that is not heavy is light. Light can also mean not dark. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 5 (200)

Twelve inches OR a part of your body

SUBMIT CONTINUE

FOOT

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is FOOT. You have a foot at the end of each leg. Something that measures 12 inches is a foot long. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 6 (200)

Something you use to light a fire OR two things that go together.

SUBMIT CONTINUE

MATCH

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is MATCH. You use a match to light a fire. Two things that are similar or go together are said to match. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 7 (300)

Another word for smart OR something that gives off a lot of light.

SUBMIT CONTINUE

BRIGHT

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is BRIGHT. A bright person is smart. Something that gives off a lot of light is bright. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 8 (300)

What you do with a hammer OR a placefor stray animals.

SUBMIT CONTINUE

POUND

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is POUND. We pound a nail with a hammer. Lost dogs and kittens are placed in the animal pound. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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Item 9 (300)

A journey OR to stumble over something.

SUBMIT CONTINUE

TRIP

(FEEDBACK)(Correct answer): Your answer is CORRECT. Click “Continue”. (Incorrect answer): INCORRECT. The right answer is TRIP. Someone who goes on a journey takes a trip. Trip also means to stumble over something, e.g., you may trip if your foot catches on a wire. Click “Continue.”

(Homograph Jeopardy)

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(Note that there is a running scoreboard next to or under the Jeopardy grid. When the final score is shown, the student can click on the scoreboard to get the feedback.)

(Homograph Jeopardy)

100 100 100

200 200 200

300 300 300

1500/1800

(Feedback)

(1800) Congratulations, you got a perfect score! Click “Continue” to know more about homographs.

(1500 - 1700) Well done! Click “Continue” to know more about homographs.

(1100 - 1400) Your score is okay but you need to know more about homographs. Click “Continue”.

(1000 and below) You definitely need to improve your knowledge of homographs. This is your chance! Click “Continue”.

CONTINUE

Click on your score

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Frame 6

How to identify the meaning of a homograph

To understand what you read, you need to make sure that you get the meaning intended by the author. You need to be especially alert if the author uses homographs. If you use another meaning for a homograph other than the one intended by the author, then you will misunderstand the text.

How do you make sure that you get the right meaning for a homograph used in a text you are reading? You need to pay attention to context, or how the word is used in the passage.

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Frame 7

Read this sentence from the story “Mafatu and the Ma’o.” Think about the meaning of bank as it is used in the sentence.

Mafatu had banked his fire the night before in the natural shelter of a cave and he resolved never to let the sparks die out.

In the sentence, note that the word bank does not have anything to do with an institution dealing with money. It does not refer to a river bank either. Nor does it mean the action of tilting.

(Make a link for “Mafatu and the Ma’o”. The link gives a synopsis of the story.

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(LINK: Synopsis of “Mafatu and the Ma’o”.)

“Mafatu and the Ma’o” is taken from the novel Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry. Mafatu, son of the great Polynesian chief of Hikuero, was scorned by his people because of his fear of the sea. To earn his proper place among them, he set out in his canoe, alone except for his dog Uri, and his pet albatross--determined to conquer his fear or to be conquered. But a storm wrecked his canoe and tossed him onto a deserted island. This chapter narrates how Mafatu learned to conquer his fear of the sea while on the island, building the canoe that will take him home.

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Look at the words surrounding bank. Do you notice any that can help you determine what it means in the passage?

If your answer is “…resolved never to let the sparks die out,” you are correct. This phrase indicates that Mafatu did something to the fire so it did not die out. Thus, the phrase helps you to figure out the meaning of bank.

What do you think Mafatu did so the fire would not die out? Type your answer here:

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(Picture/Flash animation of Mafatu covering the fire with ashes so it burns more slowly )

Compare your answer to the explanation below.

What do you do when you bank a fire? You save it. Here, the word bank does not mean saving money but, rather, saving a fire by having it burn more slowly. Perhaps, Mafatu covered the fire with some ashes so it burned more slowly.

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Frame 8

Now practice using context to identify the meanings of homographs. Read the sentence that tells about Mafatu. Pay attention to the context. Click on the homograph and choose its meaning as used in the sentence.

(Flash each sentence one at a time. When the student clicks on the underlined word, the options appear. Clicking on an option shows the feedback, shown in parenthesis after each option.)

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Sentence 1

In Hikuero, keeping the fire burning was a boy’s most important charge.

(options)

• task or duty (Feedback: Well done!)• to attack violently (Feedback: Try again.)

What clues in the sentence help you determine the correct meaning of charge?(options)• In Hikuero (Feedback: Try again.)• keeping the fire burning (Feedback: Correct. It describes a task or duty.)• most important (Feedback: Correct. As an adjective describing charge, it indicates that charge is a noun. The two other options are verbs.)

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Sentence 2

Mafatu watched as the shark turned and began to charge the raft, hitting it with its head.

(options)• task or duty (Feedback: Try again)• to attack violently (Feedback: Well done!)

What clues in the sentence help you determine the correct meaning of charge?(options)• Mafatu watched (Feedback: Try again.)• the shark turned and began to ___ the raft (Feedback: Correct. We know from experience how sharks might behave to a boat or raft.)• hitting it with its head (Feedback: Correct. This particular action shows violence.)

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Sentence 3

It had taken Mafatu many hours to fashion the utensils out of the whale bones.

(options)• current style, as in dress (Feedback: Try again.)• make or form (Feedback: Well done!)

What clues in the sentence help you determine the correct meaning of fashion?(options)• It had taken Mafatu many hours (Feedback: Try again.)• to ___ the utensils out of the whale bones (Feedback: Correct. Shows an action of forming or making something.)

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Sentence 4

Mafatu wound the cloth around his waist, as was the fashion in Hikuero.

(options)• current style, as in dress (Feedback: Well done!)• make or form (Feedback: Try again.)

Which part of the sentence helps you determine the correct meaning of fashion?(options)• wound the cloth around his waist (Feedback: Correct. This phrase refers to dressing style.)• in Hikuero (Feedback: Try again.)

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SELF-TEST I

A Words with different spellings but the same meanings(Feedback: Wrong. Homographs are words that are spelled the same but carry different meanings, depending on the context in which they are used.)

B Words with the same spelling but different meanings, and sometimes with different pronunciations(Feedback: Good answer!)

C Words with different spellings but with the same pronunciations.(Feedback: Wrong. Homographs are words that are spelled the same but carry different meanings, depending on the context in which they are used.)

1 Click on the best definition of homographs:

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A Use a dictionary.(Feedback: Wrong. A dictionary will give you the different meanings of a homograph but you still need to first determine which meaning is used in the passage you are reading.)

B Break the word into its meaningful parts(Feedback: Wrong. You need to look at the context or surrounding words to determine which meaning is used in the passage.)

C Use context or how the word is used in the passage.(Feedback: Correct. Without context, a reader cannot tell which meaning of a homograph is intended by the author.)

2 What is the best strategy for identifying the meaning of a homograph when you are reading a text?

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Frame 10

What kind of animal is that?

• She used a different kind of pencil than the one I had.

(Feedback: Correct. In the model sentence, kind means “sort” or “type”.)

• My grandmother is a very kind person.(Feedback: Wrong. Here, kind is a character trait describing a friendly, generous, and warm-hearted

person.)

3 Read the model sentence. Take note of the context in which the underlined homograph is used. Then choose the sentence that uses the meaning of the homograph as the model sentence.

SELF-TEST II

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I drew a line on the paper.

• I will line my drawer with a soft cloth.(Feedback: Wrong. Here, line refers to the action of covering the inner surface of something.)

• He wrote his name on the line.(Feedback: Correct. Here, the meaning of line, which

is a thin continuous mark applied on a surface such as paper, is similar to that used in the lead sentence.)

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Shoo, fly! Don’t bother me.

• We will fly to Cebu tomorrow on Philippine Air Lines.

(Feedback: Wrong. Here, line refers to the action of being airborne on an airplane.)

• A fly landed on my sandwich so I threw it away.(Feedback: Correct. Here, fly, refers to an insect,

which is the meaning used in the lead sentence..)

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Summary

Congratulations, you have finished the lesson. By now you are aware that in English there are many homographs, or words with more than one meaning.

IN THIS LESSON, YOU:• Defined what homographs are• Identified homographs being referred to in various contexts• Used context clues to determine the meanings of homographs in passages.

On your own, continues to apply the strategy you learned in this lesson. It is a tool that can help you become a better and more independent reader.