3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 7 of 21
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).
New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 3L5 · 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 New York
In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 7 of 21 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 is an antonym for “smooth”?
- rough
- flat
- shiny
rough
Hint: Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, like smooth and rough.
Question 2
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
Can you ___ the birds singing?
- hear
- here
hear
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “hear” means to listen with your ears.
Question 3
Which word correctly completes the sentence?
We ___ our bikes to the park.
- rode
- road
rode
Hint: Homophones sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things. “rode” means traveled on something.
Question 4
Which word is an antonym for “loud”?
- quiet
- bright
- noisy
quiet
Hint: Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, like loud and quiet.
Question 5
Which word is a synonym for “jump”?
- crawl
- sit
- leap
leap
Hint: Synonyms are words that mean almost the same thing. You could swap “jump” for “leap” in a sentence.
Question 6
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.