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).
Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 3.L.5 · 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 Arizona
In the Arizona Academic Standards, 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.
- 3rd grade guide for Arizona parents
- Printable 3rd grade English Language Arts sheet
- Arizona report cards explained
Source: Arizona Department of Education
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?
I ate a juicy green ___.
- pear
- pair
pear
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “pear” is a fruit.
Question 2
Which word is an antonym for “asleep”?
- sleepy
- awake
- tired
awake
Hint: Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, like asleep and awake.
Question 3
Which word is an antonym for “always”?
- often
- forever
- never
never
Hint: Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, like always and never.
Question 4
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
Look both ways before you cross the ___.
- rode
- road
road
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “road” is a street for cars.
Question 5
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
We need ___ to bake the bread.
- flour
- flower
flour
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “flour” is a powder used for baking.
Question 6
Which word is a synonym for “jump”?
- crawl
- leap
- sit
leap
Hint: Synonyms are words that mean almost the same thing. You could swap “jump” for “leap” in a sentence.