Analogies are used to show relationships between words. For example, if you were told that “near” relates to “far” in the same way that “small” is related to “big.” You would be able to understand the relationship and meanings of the words. Colons are often used for demonstration.

near: far
small: big

Relationships among words may be shown through the usage of analogies. The above example would be displayed as:

“near is to far as small is to big”

Opposites are common types of analogies. As the word suggests, opposites are the other of two related things. Since words only have a single opposite, these are usually straightforward.

Vocabulary.co.il offers some excellent games for practicing and using analogies. Their Analogy games allow students to simply pick the answer that completes the analogy.

SpellingCity.com also offers several analogies based games. you can find word lists of analogies, see analogies examples, learn about types of analogies, and compare analogy vs. metaphor.

Once students understand that analogies are all based on relationships. They can use the concepts already learned to pair the words.