These are called homophones . Words that look alike but have different meanings are called homonyms . Search for similarities as a way of better understanding the differences that prefixes, suffixes, and inflections make. Related words are built on the same base. Although the parts of speech change, the meaning of the word act is implicit in each of these related words.
Suffixes are especially important in creating groups of related words.
Because they change the way the word is used, suffixes permit a number of words to be derived from a single base. In the early grades, give a list of suffixes along with base words so the child can see the possibilities. With older children, you may want to give only the list of verbs without showing the suffixes. Map A word map is a diagram of relationships between concepts and related ideas. Much of our knowledge of words and concepts can be thought of as being stored in word maps.