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WorksheetsWord Choice and Imagery
Total questions: 18
Worksheet time: 50mins
Read the following sentence:
The baby was very clever. It already knew how to crawl into a room without making a sound.
How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used "cunning" instead of the word "clever"?
The baby would seem sneakier
The baby would seem cuter
The baby would seem stupider
The baby would seem louder
Read the following passage:
"He's very influential in the clowning community," she whispered to her friend, pointing to the tall man in loose pants and rainbow suspenders striding across the room. "He's a great artist. Balloon animals have never been the same."
How does the author intend the word "influential" to be taken in this passage?
positive
negative
neutral
extremely negative
Read the following sentence:
The hedgehog was ecstatic-- She had found a hole to burrow into, and she was happily settled beneath the ground, excited to sleep the day away.
Based on the context clues, what is the denotation of the word "ecstatic" in the passage?
overly intelligent
greatly impressed
extremely happy
often late
Read the following passage:
After winning the spelling bee, Bridget became confident. "I can spell any word in the universe," she insisted loudly, even in places where it was not required to spell things. Like at the movies with her friends.
Her best friend, annoyed, said, "I bet you can't spell a word in German." Bridget did not speak German.
"I probably can," she insisted,"I mean, how hard can it be, right?"
How does the author intend the word "confident" to be taken in this passage?
positive
negative
neutral
extremely positive
Read the following sentence:
The man stretched slowly, then continued his sluggish walk down the street.
How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used the word "unhurried" instead of the word "sluggish"?
The man would seem less lazy
the man would seem funnier
the man wold seem more talented
the man would seem animal-like
Read the following passage:
My grandmother is thrifty. She never throws out old clothes and saves all her jars to reuse as glasses.
How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used "cheap" instead of the word "thrifty"?
The writer would seem unafraid
the grandmother would seem unknown
the writer would seem uncertain
the grandmother would seem ungenerous
Read the following passage:
"How could you do this?" the painter screeched. "How could you paint that wall blue? It should clearly be orange!"
How would the meaning of the sentence change if the author used the word "whimpered" instead of the word "screeched"?
The painter would seem more pathetic
The painter would seem more powerful
The painter would seem more joyful
The painter would seem more intelligent
Read the following sentence:
A flock of flamingos slowly picked their way across the lawn towards the Gupta family where they stood waiting.
How would the meaning of the sentence change is the author used the word "mob" instead of the word "flock"?
The flamingos would seem friendlier
The flamingos would seem more elegant
The flamingos would seem more indifferent
The flamingos would seem more threatening
Words that have the same denotation are called ________.
acronyms
homonyms
antonyms
synonyms
When you look up a word in the dictionary, you find its ___________.
connotation
acronym
denotation
homonym
What is the term for the emotions that a word stirs in a reader?
synonym
connotation
denotation
acronym
You look up synonyms for minimal. What do you see?
least
largest
unclear
obvious
Read the sentence below. The word tranquil has a ________ connotation.
The baby looked tranquil as he slept.
positive
negative
Read the sentence below. The word dinky has a ________ connotation.
My mom only let me eat a dinky scoop of ice cream.
positive
negative
Read the sentence below. What is the denotation of the word superior?
My old computer kept running out of batteries. My new one is superior.
better
positive
worse
negative
Read the sentences. What is the difference between the words mortified and embarrassed?
a. Sam was mortified when he was called to come up onstage during the assembly.
b. Sam was embarrassed when he was called to come up onstage during the assembly.
"mortified" is an antonym of "embarrassed"
"mortified" is more intense and has a more negative connotation than "embarrassed"
"Embarrassed" is more intense and has a more negative connotation than "mortified"
"mortified" and "embarrassed" have different denotations
The dentotation is the ______ meaning of a word.
emotional
incorrect
literal
opposite
Read the sentences below. What is the difference between the words surprised and astounded?
a. Julie was surprised to find out that her grandma was coming for a visit.
b. Julie was astounded to find out that her grandma was coming for a visit.
"Surprised" is an antonym of "astounded"
"surprised" is more intense than "astounded" and implies that Julie is even more shocked.
"astounded" is more intense than "surprised" and implies that Julie is even more shocked.
"surprised" and "astounded" have different denotations
