Главная страница «Первого сентября»Главная страница журнала «Английский язык»Содержание №10/2007

BUILDING VOCABULARY
continued from No. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

How to Learn New Words

Strategies for Building Vocabulary

UNIT 9: LEARN ABOUT WORDS WITH MULTIPLE MEANINGS

Many words in my Word Box have multiple meanings. Multiple means “more than one.” So, words with multiple meanings have more than one meaning.

Example
Fido made paw prints in the mud.
Carmela prints her name neatly.

Activity 1. Study each picture and read each word meaning.

A train is a line of railroad cars. You can train a dog to sit up and beg for food.

Flowers grow in the spring. You can spring out of bed.

A pilot can land a plane. A farm may have a lot of land for planting crops.

A cook makes a meal. Your dad can cook hamburgers.

Now finish each sentence below with a boldfaced word.

1. On our trip we traveled over ________ and across the sea.

2. On my birthday Mom will __________ my favorite meal.

3. Grandpa took us on a _______ ride to the big city.

4. Birds build their nests in the __________.

5. We watched a helicopter _________ on the roof of a tall building.

6. Matthew says he can _________ his puppy to roll over.

7. The __________ served us eggs.

8. I turn off the alarm clock and _______ out of bed.

Answer: 1. land; 2. cook; 3. train; 4. spring; 5. land; 6. train; 7. cook; 8. spring

Jack-in-the-Box’s rule number 9 for learning words:

For each word you learn, try to think if the word has more than one meaning.

LEARN MORE WORDS WITH MULTIPLE MEANINGS

Activity 2. In the sentences below there are words with multiple meanings. Read the sentences. Read the words below each sentence. Then underline the meaning for the boldfaced word in each sentence.

1. The children rode the bus to school.
a place where students learn
a large number of fish

2. Through the glass-bottomed boat we could see a school of fish.
a place where students learn
a large number of fish

3. Mother served the cake on her new plate.
the home base in baseball
a flat dish for food

4. Jodi threw the ball to the plate.
the home base in baseball
a flat dish for food

5. It took a lot of paint to finish the poster.
a large amount
a piece of land

6. The kids played ball in the empty lot.
a large amount
a piece of land

7. Dad gave Mom a pretty ring.
the sound of a bell
something worn on the finger

8. The ring of the telephone woke me up.
the sound of a bell
something worn on the finger

9. We climbed to the top of the hill.
a cover
the highest part

10. Mom put the top on the jelly jar.
a cover
the highest part

Answer: 1. a place where students learn; 2. a large number of fish; 3. a flat dish for food; 4. the home base in baseball; 5. a large amount; 6. a piece of land; 7. something worn on the finger; 8. the sound of a bell; 9. the highest part; 10. a cover

Activity 3. The words below are from the last two units. Number each list of words in ABC (alphabetical) order.

A

ring _______
spring _______
plate _______
prints _______
lot _______

В

train _______
school _______
cook _______
plane _______
top _______

Answer: A – 5; 3; 4; 1; 2; B – 3; 4; 2; 5; 1

Using a Dictionary

Sometimes you can’t figure out the meaning of an unknown word from the words that come before or after it. Then you should look up the word in a dictionary.
You have already had some practice listing words in ABC (alphabetical) order. Words in a dictionary are listed in ABC order too. First find the word. Then read all the meanings for that word. Decide which meaning fits the word as it is used in the sentence you just read.

Activity 4. Below is part of a dictionary page. Study the page.

hive

1. A box or container built for bees to live in.
2. A large number of bees that live together.

hobby

An occupation that you enjoy doing apart from your usual studies or work; something done for fun. Cooking is my father’s hobby.

hockey

A game played on ice or on a field by players who move a ball or flat object with long sticks. Players in ice hockey wear skates.

hoe

A garden tool with a small blade and a long handle. A hoe is used for digging in soil.

hog

1. A pig, especially a large one.
2. A greedy or selfish person.

Now finish each sentence with a word from the sample dictionary page. If a word has two meanings, write the number of the meaning you chose in the box at the end of the sentence. The first one is done for you.

1. Farmer Gray feeds his hog corncobs and potato peels.

2. Grandpa loosened the soil with a ________.

3. Bruce was stung when he stepped on a ______ of bees.

4. Jennifer’s __________ is sewing.

5. The __________ team skated onto the ice.

6. Sometimes Pete eats like a ___________.

7. Martie wanted to raise bees, so Dad built her a ________.

Answer: 2. hoe; 3. hive (2); 4. hobby; 5. hockey; 6. hog (2); 7. hive (1)

Test: Show All You Know

About Words With Multiple Meanings

Draw lines to match each word to its meaning.

school
spring
land
cook

leap
a group of fish
bake
soil

train
spring
land
cook
plate

a time of year
chef
locomotive
set down an airplane
a piece of land

lot
hive
hobby
ring

flat dish
something done for fun
a box for bees to live in
sound of a bell

Answer: school – a group of fish; spring – leap; land – soil; cook – bake; train – locomotive; spring – a time of year; land – set down an airplane; plate – flat dish; hive – a box for bees to live in; ring – sound of a bell 

List the words below in the order they would be found in a dictionary.

hoe _______
top _______
school _______
hog _______
lot _______

Answer: 1; 4; 5; 3; 2

Write one meaning for the word school.

1. ________________________________________________________________________

Write a sentence for that meaning of school.

1. ________________________________________________________________________

Write one meaning for ring.

1. ________________________________________________________________________

Write a sentence for that meaning of ring.

1. ________________________________________________________________________

Write one meaning for hog.

1. ________________________________________________________________________

Write a sentence for that meaning of hog.

1. ________________________________________________________________________

Compiled by Erin Bouma

to be continued