Tips, Tools and Technology for Educators

"Just like the two of you are twins, words can have twins too. Let me show you!"

Here's a vocabulary lesson that uses an engaging 'twin brothers' metaphor to introduce multiple meaning words to lower elementary students. Through the use of interactive game-like activities, colorful graphics, and supportive audio feedback, students are encouraged to explore how two identical words can have different meanings.

Students are given common multiple meaning words (such as ring, bat, and watch) and asked to select the correct meaning based on how it is used in the sentence.

Usability testing revealed that lower elementary students found the airplane theme engaging and especially liked our quirky Capt. Brown character. It also showed that the immediate supportive feedback helped students understand a concept that many find tricky, that multiple meaning words are spelled the same but have different meanings.

This interactive tutorial is one of two components that comprise this lesson. Also included is a riddle word game that is timed and graded to ensure mastery of the learning objectives.

Suggestion: Use this lesson as a fun, whole-class multiple meaning words activity with your interactive whiteboard!

Watch the multiple meaning words tutorial.