Recent research on single-word language has focused on the acquisition of object words, considering relational words such as more, allgone, here, and up only peripherally. These words are considered in relation to the operative schemes of sensorimotor intelligence as suggested by Sinclair (1970). Relational words, like syntactic structure, appear to develop and exist apart from specific content. Study of such words helps clarify the relationship between sensorimotor understandings and the language of the pre-operational child. Data spanning the entire single-word period from five subjects provide an empirical base for analysing the meanings of these words in use. A model is then proposed for considering relational words as coding a set of interrelated meanings reflecting the cognitive organization of the late sensorimotor period.