Homonyms are words that sound the same but that have different meanings. There/ their/ and they're and to/too/two are sets of homonyms that are commonly used (and confused) by students, but there are many others in the English language. The following resources provide a list of lesson plans teachers can use to introduce homonyms to students as part of the language arts curriculum.
Homonyms are generally introduced to students at the middle school level, although many students may be familiar with homonyms simply from everyday speech. While most people can easily identify common homonyms, there are some uncommon homonyms that are not recognized as frequently.
The following links contain lesson plans designed to help teach the concept of homonyms to students of various grade levels, or to give students additional practice with homonyms. Most of the resources are printable, although some of the links are links to online sources of homonym quizzes that can be used to create your own printable worksheets.
Printable Homonym Worksheets
- Alan Cooper's Homonym List: A printable list of 706 sets of homonyms. The list is very comprehensive and includes common homonyms as well as more obscure sets of homoynms such as words like "a/eh" and "bays/baize." This list can be a great handout for students to help them understand just how many homonyms there actually are in the English language.
- Homonym Quizzes: A list of 56 online homonym quizzes. Although these quizzes must be taken online and are not printable, you can use the questions and material contained here as a springboard for your own homonym quizzes and lesson plans.
- Grade 6 Lesson Plan: A homonym lesson centered around a baseball theme. All materials required for the lesson plan are printable from links contained in the description of the lesson plan. The lesosn plan is tailored towards sixth graders, and makes a game of understanding the spelling and proper usage of homonyms.
- Homonyms, Antonyms and Synonyms:A printable lesson plan, including links to worksheets, designed tohelp students use homonyms, antonyms and synonyms correctly. Allresources necessary for this lesson plan, including overheadtransparencies, are printable from links within the lesson plan.
- Grade 6-8 Lesson Plan: A suggested lesson plan by a teacher from a Colorado school district that explains how to teach homonyms to students in grades six to 8. The activities are appropriate for any student and no resources are needed for the lesson plan other than a list of homonyms.
- Grade 4-8 Lesson Plan: A simply printable lesson plan created by the School District of Grand Island Nebraska. The lesson plan focuses on introducing students to homonyms using a series of different picture books targeted towards different reading lessons. While some of the ideas are specific to the school district, the general structure of the lesson plan is appropriate for students in any classroom.
- Vocabulary and Homonym Lesson Plan: A lesson plan designed to reinforce and teach proper homonym use, as well as improve general vocabulary. The lesson plan uses a story about the Meers Fault to introduce vocabulary and homonyms and asks students to identify and memorize unfamiliar words as well as distinguish among homonyms. All required material, including overhead transparencies, are printable.
- Printable Homonym Worksheets for ESL Students: A website containing links to printable homonym worksheets and games specifically targeted towards English as a Second Language Students. Although many of these worksheets could also be used or adapted for elementary and middle school students learning homonyms, they are specifically tailored towards students who do not speak English as their primary language and who, as a result, may struggle especially with homonyms.
- Downloadable Homonym Lesson Plans: A website with a list of homonym lesson plans and games, including homonym Go Fish, that can be printed and downloaded. All materials necessary to teach the lesson plans and/or play the games are included in the downloadable files.