Acronym, Homonym, Antonym, Synonyms

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

Antonyms

From Greek anti- (against, opposing) and onoma (name).
Antonyms are word pairs with opposite meanings. eg. hot / cold

Synonyms

From Greek syn- (together, same) and onoma (name)
Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning.
eg. generous - altruistic, benevolent, gracious

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, where bare means naked and bear means to show patience or an animal.

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.

eg.
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation