READING AND WRITING SKILLS

Name: __________________________________ Section: ____________________

Context Clues: Antonyms

1. Although Tom was anxious about the test, Tina was not worried at all.
forgetful calm
worried not worried
2. Two new girls started school this week. Beth has a gregarious personality. Jenna is
rather quiet.
shy timid
bashful outgoing
3. If you don't conquer your fears, they will beat you.
lose talk about
win forget
4. While Lily was careful not to be seen as she peeked out the window, Phil was not as
cautious and was seen!
careful risky
not careful trouble
5. Although the princess is familiar to those in London, she is unknown to the rest of the
world.
pretty old
smart well-known
6. Although Mary was willing to play in the snow, Jack was reluctant because he was so
cold.
ready not willing
willing excited

Context Clues: Synonyms

1. The book of logic contained many conundrums - mind-exercising puzzles.
pictures answers
stories puzzles
2. Jackie was filled with mortification, or shame, because of her careless remark.
proud confident
shame happy
3. His rancor, or hatred, of his brother has caused him to live his life as a lonely person.
love tolerance
generous hatred
4. The events for the conference were listed in chronological order. They began with the
first event of the day and ended with the closing ceremonies in the evening.
 out of order messed up
broken in order
5. There was crazy pandemonium as people were trying to leave the rock concert.
silence order
craziness or chaos peace
6. The man was sent to the penitentiary, or prison, for stealing cars.
paradise prison
hotel heaven

Context Clues: Explanations

1. Katie appeared infallible in math class because she had never gotten a problem wrong.
never wrong wrong
mistaken incorrect
2. The tornado annihilated the whole town to the point that nothing was left standing.
destroyed created
saved constructed
3. We could tell by the rotten smell, that something putrid was in our trash can.
ample rotten
alive appealing
4. Phyllis felt elated when she won the race.
sick tired
miserable happy
5. The insidious burglar was able to sneak into the house without being heard or seen.
strong clumsy
loud sneaky
6. The voters were so upset about the outcome of the election that a skirmish broke out
and the police had to break it up.
fight hurricane
sunshine creature

Context Clues: Example Sentences

1. Projectiles include those items that are shot forward such as a cannon shell, bullet, or
rocket.
things put down things hurt
things shot forward things broken
2. The professor was a favorite among the students at the college. His sagacity was
helpful to them as they pursued their degrees. The professor was known to use his
experience, insight, and common sense to help students pursue their education.

silliness wisdom
 thoughtlessness negligence
3. Famous conquistadors include Cortes, who conquered Aztec Mexico and Pizarro, who
conquered Inca Peru.
geographers victims
losers conquerors
4. A sleuth, such as Sherlock Holmes, can be very helpful in solving crimes.
senior citizen pilot
man detective
5. Zack was a good at many sports. He excelled in swimming, running, horsemanship,
fencing, and target shooting. He decided to compete in the pentathlon rather than
having to choose one of the events.
competition with two events competition with ten events
competition with eight events competition with five events
 Context Clues
1. There were many diminutive items in the dollhouse including tiny chairs, petite beds, and
little pictures.

diminutive means:

Clues:

2. The lists comprise of seven rules, but talking while your mouth is open is not included.

comprise means:

Clues:

3. The United States has gained great prosperity. However, she still needs to find solutions for
many poor citizens.

prosperity means:

Clues:

4. The lawyer had tangible evidence, such as a hammer, a car, and keys, to show that the
person stole the car.

tangible means:

Clues:

5. After Julius Caesar was assassinated, a triumvirate ruled Rome. The three men in charge
were Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus. It was felt that this was best for Rome
because the people did not want a dictator or emperor.

triumvirate means:

Clues:

Complete.
1. As I walked past several rows and back toward the aft part of the airplane, a sudden fear
came over me. I sat down in my seat, but the feeling wouldn't go away. Just seconds before
the flight attendant was to close the entry door, I walked off the plane. The next day, I saw in
the paper that the airplane I was on had crashed into a field in Missouri.
 Write a synonym and a definition for the word aft.

Synonym: Definition:

2. It was dubious to us exactly what Mr. Waynewright was telling us. He would talk about the
need for more computers, but then say that we had too many computers. I'm not exactly sure
what we need, but I don't think he is either.
Write a synonym and a definition for the word dubious.

Synonym: Definition:

3. Keith and his friend were watching a dramatic movie. In the film, the bad guy was trying to
obliterate the world. Then there would be no Earth left. It was a good thing the police caught
him and saved the world.
Write a synonym and a definition for the word obliterate.

Synonym: Definition:

4. Mom and Dad were trying to decide how to update the family room. They couldn't agree on
most things like what furniture to buy. Finally, after many discussions, they at least agreed
on what hue they wanted the walls to be painted.
Write a synonym and a definition for the word hue.

Synonym: Definition:

5Hospitals can be inundated with emergencies on the weekends. It seems that most serious
. injuries happen during that time. Maybe it's because people have more free time on the
weekend, so they do things to hurt themselves. If you ever need to go to the emergency room
on a Saturday night, you may want to plan on still being there on Sunday morning.

inundated means:

Clues:
6Whenever we have a party, Ashley is the first person on the list. Her vivacious personality is
. contagious. She is so full of life; a party is always a success with her in attendance.

vivacious means:

Clues:

7The fact that we had a campfire here last night was quite palpable. You could still see the
. ashes and smell the remnants of the fire. All that was missing was the heat and the sound.

palpable means:

Clues:

Write as many words as you can to complete the sentence.

1Sally, Ray, and I played ____ until bedtime. I won two times.
.

2The ____ apple is nice to touch. It's yummy, too!

.
3The bird ____ through the sky with little effort. It was beautiful to watch it fly among the
. clouds.

4The crowd was ____ when the elephant at the zoo sprayed them with water. They were soaked
. from head to toe.

Read the sentence. Pick the choice that uses the underlined word in the same way
as in the original sentence.

1. Lack of money drove Joyce to sell the farm.

The blizzard drove Marlene to decide to stay home and be alone on Christmas.
Dad drove us to the mall but Mom said she would take us home.
The family drove three hours to see the ocean.
2. The employee put a caution sign up so no one would slip on the wet floor.
The man will slip on the wet floor if he's not careful.
We need a permission slip in order to go on the trip.
The messenger handed the slip of paper to the teacher.
3. Matt stroked his dog's back to calm him down.
The stroke left her paralyzed on the right side of her body.
The man had a stroke and was incapable of walking.
The little girl stroked her doll's hair.
4. The punishment was a beating with a mace.
 After she was attacked, Kathy always carried mace.
The chain mail held fast against the mace.
The police officer was sprayed in the face with mace during her training.
5. The sailors girded the deck as they approached the enemy ship.
The soldiers girded for battle.
Carol decided to gird the young tree with a small fence for protection.
The trees girded the property, thus making it secluded.

6. Ouch...I think I twisted my arm!

The setting of the sapphire is called an ouch.
You don't hear people use the term ouch when they speak of jewelry settings because
it is an old term.
Ouch...I think I have a splinter

7. We could not listen to Daniel anymore because his ideas were bunk.
The executive wanted to hear substantial ideas, not bunk.
Can I sleep on the bottom bunk?
Do you want to sleep in the top bunk?
8. One pant leg was longer than the others.
The family became concerned when Dorothy started to pant at the store.
I usually pant after running up six flights of stairs to reach my apartment.
The bottom of the pant leg had paint on it.