Purchase or borrow the most authoritative dictionaries out there. Oxford English, Webster's and American Heritage are just some of the works in which you'll have no trouble finding what you are looking for, as well as a few noticeable surprises along the way.
Find the words you know already in these dictionaries, such as "yes," "no," "sit," "dog," "cat" and all those other words you learned back in grade school. There is more to these words than meets the eye.
Take as many notes as you can in regard to the somewhat intricately written definition(s) of some of the simplest words to understand the English language.
Write, or type, the words of your choice for your report.
Write the correct pronunciation for each word according to your research. Then write each word's etymology, or ancestral history.
Determine what figures of speech through which each word can be used: adjective, noun, verb, adverb--plus various spelling and usage variations: -tion, -tive, -n, -ian, -s, -ing, -ed. It is all in your hands.
Write the correct definition(s) pertaining to each word's figure of speech. For example, the verb "confuse" means to perplex one's mind, whereas the adjective "confused" could mean that an individual is a consistently perplexed human being.
Depending on when and where each word is used in our culture (or other cultures), make sure you note "Law," "Medicine," or "Slang," "Informal," to clarify the context in which the word is used before going into the real nitty-gritty of each word's definition(s).