3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 7 of 13
Word Pairs
Same, opposite and sound-alike
What your child practices
Synonyms (words that mean the same), antonyms (opposites) and homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently, like their, there and they're).
Alabama Course of Study content standard: 3.14 · synonyms, antonyms and homophones
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Synonyms mean almost the same: big and large.
- Antonyms are opposites: hot and cold.
- Homophones sound the same but mean different things: road and rode. Check the meaning in the sentence.
Example: Which word means almost the same as “gift”: toy, present or party? A gift is something you give someone. A present is also something you give. Answer: present
Word Pairs in Alabama
In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 7 of 13 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Prefixes & Suffixes and before Sentence Smarts.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
Can you ___ the birds singing?
- here
- hear
hear
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “hear” means to listen with your ears.
Question 2
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
Please put your boots over ___.
- here
- hear
here
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “here” means in this place.
Question 3
Which word is an antonym for “loud”?
- quiet
- bright
- noisy
quiet
Hint: Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, like loud and quiet.
Question 4
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
We need ___ to bake the bread.
- flower
- flour
flour
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “flour” is a powder used for baking.
Question 5
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
I ate a juicy green ___.
- pair
- pear
pear
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “pear” is a fruit.
Question 6
Which word is a synonym for “smart”?
- sleepy
- silly
- clever
clever
Hint: Synonyms are words that mean almost the same thing. You could swap “smart” for “clever” in a sentence.