Last Updated on May 22, 2025 by Editorial Team
Homographs are words that share the exact spelling but differ in pronunciation, origin, or meaning. Homo + graphs combine to form the term homograph. Despite having similar spelling, they are still distinctive in some way. Homographs are considered to be the words that can confuse the students. However, with some quick and easy activities, you can make your students enjoy the concept and feel confident when using them in sentences.
As homographs are essential in sentence formation and daily communication, it is important for students to be aware of their correct application. As teachers, you can opt for some amazing classroom activities to teach homographs. They are easy and require less material planning. Additionally, fun activities are good to boost energy and pave the way to a fun learning atmosphere in the classroom.
Homograph activities for the classroom
Homographs are fun to learn when they are taught with the help of activities, as this ends up making your class exciting and joyful. Students love when the teachers come up with activities to teach them new things, and they can grasp the concept easily. Want to enjoy teaching your students the concept of homographs? Here are some of the best activities that can help them out in the right manner.
1. Sketch it Out
This is a really simple activity to teach homographs in the classroom. In this activity, all you need to do is arrange a whiteboard, marker, and some chits papers. Write different homographs on the chits and put them in a bowl.
- In this activity, students will be given 1 minute to perform and get a point.
- The player is required to pick one chit and understand the homograph.
- While they have already known one meaning of the homograph, they are required to draw the other meaning to make the pair.
- For example, if the word can, they have to draw a can (container) on the whiteboard.
- The player who is able to correctly draw the homograph gets one point.
This activity can be done in teams and the other students can be asked to guess the term. It is an engaging activity that brings out creativity through drawing.
2. Time for Stories
Let’s have story time today with the students and make them understand the concept of homographs with quick activities. Now in this activity, you can tell stories to your students and use a lot of homographs.
- Give a piece of paper to everyone in the class and tell them to write the homographs used in the story.
- This way, they will listen attentively to what you are telling and write down whatever they feel is a homograph.
- Collect the piece of paper you gave them and then analyze the results.
- You can discuss what you have observed with them and then explain the concept.
Do not keep this activity for only one day but keep doing it for a week, and then you will notice that the students are clear with the concept.
3. Mixing sentences
This activity involves using homographs in sentences as a goal. Students also learn to build sentences using different homographs.
- Ask the students to stand in a circle and let each one pass the ball.
- The pupil selects a random homograph and uses it in a sentence. (I like to tie a bow in parties).
- A different student must take up the ball and use the homograph as a phrase with a new meaning (We should bow in front of our elders).
- A different homograph is picked for a sentence by the new student after receiving the ball from the first student.
- The match goes on as before.
- This game can continue till the time everyone has got a chance.
After the session, you can tell them what the activity was for. It was for understanding the concept of homographs and then discussing the definition with them. You can also discuss new homographs with them which were not done till now and enjoy this fun-filled session with your students.
4. Let’s rock and roll
When your students listen to the topic, they will surely feel excited for the session in the class. Discuss the concept with them and then have over small slips with homographs written on them.
- Give different slips to all students and jumble them for a dance.
- As the music stops, tell them to search for another student with the same pair.
- Once they all have found their pair, make them speak a sentence on the homograph that they have.
- For example, Alan is right, and the other student can say I will turn right.
This will make them feel energetic and enjoy the fun-filled session that will make them enjoy clarifying the concept.
5. Pick your Friend
This activity features fantastic ideas and makes the idea of homographs more understandable. Through this, students can learn communication skills, collaboration with others, and improve memory.
- Make the kids sit in a circle and write down one homograph each on a piece of paper.
- Now ask students to take out one slip at a time and make a sentence according to whatever meaning they’re able to comprehend.
- Then, ask them to take the name of their best friend who will make a sentence with the same homograph but with a different meaning.
This way, give a chance to everyone and keep on telling them to make a sentence with the other meaning of the homograph. This will make them familiar with the concept, and they will be able to confidently frame sentences.
6. Riddles
The primary objective of this activity is to get the students engaged in the understanding of homographs. Reading the riddle aloud in class would be an effective activity to get their attention. The answer to each riddle will be a homograph.
- The students will be divided into teams of 2-3.
- Teachers must give a riddle to the class.
- Students have to challenge different teams to solve that specific riddle.
- For example, if the teacher chooses team 2, members from team 2 can either solve the riddle and get points or pass the riddle to any other team.
- Such activity creates an environment of challenge wherein all teams are ready to acquire the highest number of points.
Not only are riddles stimulating, engaging, and intriguing, but also they enlighten a sense of concentration and curiosity in students. Students can also be asked to make their riddles and share them with the rest of the class. The riddles constitute a fraction of contextual clues, critical thinking skills, and sharp observation.
7. Guess the Homograph
The teacher will be the in-charge or the quiz master of the activity. This activity can be done in either teams or solo, depending on the class size.
- The students will be shown pictures of two objects which are examples of homographs.
- The students will have to find the connecting word that is common in both the pictures.
- They will be given a time of 5-10 seconds for each question.
- The pictures shown can either be animated or of real-life objects.
- While answering the questions, the students must spell both the objects shown in the pictures.
- There can be a picture of a clock and a race.
- This will signify the homograph second, which means second as 1/60th of a minute, and the other means, second position in a race.
In doing so, their clarity about homographs and vocabulary would be checked. They can also share examples of these homographs in sentences and how they differ from each other. This swift and interesting study activity will increase the student’s learning speed and also clear their doubts about homographs in the process.
8. Double-Dip
In this activity, flashcards will be distributed amongst the students. These flashcards will feature an ice cream cone which will be divided into three sections. These sections will bear some sentences with blanks. There will also be a hint regarding the homographs to be used.
- For both the sentences featured on the ice cream cone, students will have to match the words on each cone.
- In doing so, they will be completing the blanks in the two sentences.
- For instance, one scoop will have the statement ‘Close the door I feel a ____, whereas the other cone will have, please hand in your rough___ on Thursday.’
- Once they have completed the sentences, they will be completing a double scoop delight.
Double Dip helps students understand the usage of homographs and clarifies the sentence completion process. It will also improve their reading skills and accommodate their range in grammar and vocabulary.
9. Look and Pass
This is an interesting homograph activity that can be played with multiple students in the classroom. In this activity, you need to print the actions of the homograph on different placards. For example, you may print a ring (an accessory) and a ring (telephone).
- Hand over these placards to students and make them stand in a circle.
- Play the music and let students keep passing the placards to one another till the music stops.
- As the music stops, tell them to show their placards to all the players.
- Now, as the music starts, they should pass their placard only to the player to their right.
- Stop the music and ask other students to identify their pair of homographs through their previous observation. The students who received their pair will move out of the circle.
- Again play the music, let students show the phonograph, and let them pass it again to the person on their right.
- The game continues till everyone has found their pair.
This activity enhances memory-building skills combined with physical activity. Students learn to concentrate purely on finding their pair even when distracted by music; it builds focus and sharpens their brain.
10. Spin a Homograph
Spinning games are good to be played with children and students. They enjoy the factor of chance as spinning is all about probability.
- They will gather around the table and a circular chart of homographs with a spinning widget in the center.
- The circle would have homographs with pictures.
- The chance will get circulated among students.
- Once they get a turn, they will have to spell, define and use the homograph in a sentence.
- If their answer is wrong, another student can challenge and provide their take on it.
This exercise will encourage the participation and speaking skills of the students. Moreover, there is a certain level of surprise and intrigue to it. Since homographs are practice-based elements of English grammar, this fun and interesting activity is sure to engage students.
Conclusion
Homographs are important tools in grammar, and to understand them better, students should clear their confusion with practice. As homographs are words that are written similarly and understanding the context in which it is used is very important.
The activities mentioned above will not only convert the classroom into a fun learning environment. They will promote the feeling of inclusiveness and team-building exercise. Thus, to understand homographs effectively, it’s very integral that they are taught and learned together.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,