Antonyms, synonyms, homonyms and acronyms are common grammatical terms. These activities will help students to remember the meanings of these similar sounding words.

Using correct terminology for different elements of language is important, but the similar sounding words can be confusing for students. Targeted writing activities can help students to differentiate between the terms and act as a memory aid.

Antonyms

From Greek anti- (against, opposing) and onoma (name).

Antonyms are word pairs with opposite meanings. They can be words differentiated by a prefix (original/unoriginal, respect/disrespect) or can comprise two completely different words (old/young, big/small).

Synonyms

From Greek syn- (together, same) and onoma (name)

Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning. Some words have more than one group of synonyms. For example: big – large (extensive, huge, substantial), important (eminent, influential, main), grown-up (adult, elder, grown), generous (altruistic, benevolent, gracious).

Antonym and Synonym Activities

• List some antonym pairs
• Not all words have an opposite. List some that don’t. These might include colours (orange), numbers (twelve) or objects (table).
• List some words that have more than one opposite. For example: light/heavy, light/dark.
• Write a list of ten words and their synonyms.
• Try to find five words that have more than one group of synonyms.
• Provide students with appropriately marked sentences and instruct them to rewrite the sentences using antonyms or synonyms of the underlined words. This should be done as two separate activities to help reduce confusion.

Homonyms

From Greek homos (same) and onoma (name).

Homophones are groups of words that are pronounced the same way but which differ in meaning or spelling or both. For example: bare/bear, to/too/two. Homophones are commonly used in puns and cryptic crossword clues.

Homographs are groups of words that are spelt the same way but which have different meanings. They may or may not be pronounced differently. For example: sow (female pig) and sow (plant seeds), nail (as in fingernail) and nail (used with a hammer).

Homonym activities

Homonyms can cause confusion for children in their writing and spelling activities.

Homonym book – use an exercise book and keep a record of homophones and homographs that are encountered, using half of the book for each. Children can either write a brief definition next to each word or draw a small illustration to indicate the different meanings.

Write pairs of clues and get students to guess the appropriate homophone or homograph. For example: homophone – What the sun did this morning OR a flower in my garden (rose/rose), homograph – You should always do this before an emperor OR a decoration worn in the hair. (bow/bow)

Try to find pairs of words that act as homophones such as ice cream/I scream or stuff he knows/stuffy nose.

Acronyms

From Greek akros (tip, end) and onoma (name)

An acronym is a pronounceable name made from the initial letters of a group of words. Acronyms are often used as abbreviations and are generally written in capitals. Some acronyms have become words in their own right and these are generally written in lower case.

Examples of Acronyms

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

QANTAS Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service

ASAP As Soon As Possible

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Disease

laser Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

scuba Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

Acronym Activities

Have students list any acronyms that they know and write down what the acronym is an abbreviation for.

Provide a list of acronyms that are now words and ask students to guess what they stand for.

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