One vocabulary area that seems to challenge many is: providing two or more different definitions for multiple meaning words. It always seemed as though addressing a goal encompassing multiple meaning words over a few weeks or even months was never enough time to see students make measurable gains; therefore, I decided to target them all school year. Then, I took it one step further and developed word banks for monthly calendars based on a seasonal activity, event, or category. I found that asking students to provide a definition relative to the theme was helpful. At the beginning of every session, each student provides one definition for the day's target word. Every Friday, I wrote "Review Day" on the calendar so students could pick whatever word they wanted from the past week. Below are word banks you can use to make your own calendars. If you would like to read more about my lesson plans for multiple meaning words, follow this link to my published article in Advance Magazine for Speech Language Pathologists.
http://speech-language-pathology-audiology.advanceweb.com/Article/Multiple-Meaning-Words-in-Middle-School.aspx
January (Hockey words): slip, icing, sticks, fans, ice, mask, uniform, slash, goal, net, line, slide, glass, coach, pass, shoot
February (Body Parts): head, ear, limb, hand, feet, nail, face, arms, foot, lash, gum, calf, back, arm
March (Baseball Words): bat, batter, pitcher, run, home, strike, ball, coach, hit, fan, plate, fly, diamond
April (Animal words): bark, duck, hog, bear, clam, fly, bug, fish, bat, snake, crane, chicken, monkey, pig, rat, badger
May (Action words): join, drive, straighten, play, grill, settle, observe, grasp, spare, take, spin, stand, fire, fix, beat, lose, shake, sign, miss
September (Things You May Find in Your Home): iron, key, light, bed, screen, shed, sink, yard, fan, entrance, deck, plant, table, pool, steps
October (Basketball): ball, hoop, court, coach, dribble, pass, shoot, basket, net, quarter, foul, travel, trip, charge, block, run, steal, fan, tie
November (Football): ball, tackle, coach, quarter, half, run, pass, field, guard, fan, wave, catch, practice, cover, down, flag, cheer
December (Holiday/ Seasonal words): cold, present, ice, star, shop, stockings, bow, trip, open, light, wrap, tag
