3rd Grade Idioms and Sayings worksheets

About this worksheet

An idiom is a saying that means something different from what its words say, and there is no way to reason out "the ball is in your court" from the words "ball" and "court" alone — a child either already knows the saying or needs the situation around it. Every idiom on this worksheet appears inside a sentence that makes the real meaning findable: someone waiting for a reply, a camper after a long trip, a quiz after a week of practice. Each sheet uses ten different idioms, and each level has its own.

Questions ask your child what the idiom means, which words in the sentence are the idiom, which words are the clue to its meaning, what the words would mean if taken word for word, and which everyday situation the idiom fits. The common mistake is answering with the word-for-word picture, such as thinking real cats and dogs fell from the sky. Ask your child what was actually happening in the sentence before they answer.

What your child will learn

• Explain what a common idiom means
• Tell an idiom's real meaning from its word-for-word picture
• Find the words in a sentence that hint at an idiom's meaning
• Match an idiom to a situation it fits