Which definition matches the sentence?

key notes:

Understanding Multiple Meanings of Words

• Explain that some words have more than one meaning (e.g., “bat” can mean a flying mammal or a sports tool).
• Teach students to identify the correct meaning based on how the word is used in the sentence.

Context Clues

• Show students how to use context clues from the sentence to figure out which definition fits.
• Point out specific parts of the sentence that help determine meaning, such as adjectives, verbs, or surrounding words.

Identifying Key Words

• Teach students to focus on keywords or phrases in the sentence that give hints about the word’s meaning.
• Practice identifying keywords that clarify the meaning (e.g., “The bat flew across the sky” vs. “He hit the ball with the bat”).

Matching Definitions

• Guide students in selecting the definition that best fits the sentence meaning by comparing the options with the context.
• Encourage them to eliminate definitions that don’t fit with the sentence context.

Using a Dictionary

• Teach students how to look up words in a dictionary and choose the appropriate definition that fits the sentence context.
• Highlight how dictionaries list multiple definitions and explain how to decide which one to use.

Examples

• Offer several examples of sentences with words that have multiple meanings, and go through the process of matching the word to the right definition.

Critical Thinking Skills

• Encourage students to ask themselves questions like “Does this definition make sense in this sentence?” or “What is the sentence about?” to build reasoning skills.

Let’s practice!