Ask students to define homographs and antonyms and to give examples of each. (Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and word origins. Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.) Write the word "CONTRANYM" on the chalkboard. Explain that a "contranym" is a homographic antonym, a word that can have two opposite meanings. (We write "contranym" in quotation marks to indicate that it has not yet made its way into the dictionary, and is not a playable word.) Write these words on the chalkboard and have students find their opposite meanings in a dictionary.

cleave (verb)

hysterical (adverb)

weather (verb)

Discuss students' findings with them. Elicit that cleave can mean "to separate," or "to join." The word hysterical can mean "terrified" or "funny." The verb weather can mean "to withstand a storm" or "to wear away."

Have each student work with a partner. Provide each pair with one of the following words. Call on students to find two opposite meanings for the each word and to use the word in two sentences to illustrate the different meanings.

bull

edict

nonsense

to seed

to remove seeds

to sow seeds

to overlook

to inspect

to ignore

to dust

to remove dust

to cover with dust

nervy

showing nerve

excitable

moot

debatable

not worth debating

fast

moving quickly

unable to move

garnish

to add to a dish

to deduct from wages