How a word changes form, and what its root means

Grade 11 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Sentence

   The judge wrote that the team's claim was no longer tenable once the other side showed that its key number was wrong.

2. 1.

   Noah reads a debate judge's note. What does tenable mean here?

   • weak and thin
   • able to be held or defended
   • to hold or keep
   • impossible to defend
3. 2.

   Ari checks four sentences from a student-council report. In which sentence is every form of presume right?

   • It was a presume that the gym was free, and it was presumptuous to book it without asking.
   • It was a presumptuous that the gym was free, and it was presumptuous to book it without asking.
   • It was a presumption that the gym was free, and it was presumptuous to book it without asking.
   • It was a presumption that the gym was free, and it was presumption to book it without asking.
4. 3.

   The rules ___ glass bottles on the deck, and they ___ a shower before every swim. Luz fills two blanks on a pool-rules sign. Which pair of words fits the blanks in order?

   • proscribe … prescribe
   • describe … prescribe
   • prescribe … proscribe
   • proscribe … transcribe

5. Sentence

   When the final scores went up on the screen, the excitement in the gym was palpable; people said they could almost feel it in the air.

6. 4.

   Tala reads a line from a school-paper sports story. What does palpable mean here?

   • so strong it could be felt
   • too faint to notice
   • pleasant to taste
   • to touch or stroke
7. 5.

   Jun checks four sentences from a coach's practice log. In which sentence is every form of repeat right?

   • The drill's repetitive made practice feel repetitive, so the coach changed it.
   • The drill's repetition made practice feel repetitive, so the coach changed it.
   • The drill's repetition made practice feel repeat, so the coach changed it.
   • The drill's repetition made practice feel repetition, so the coach changed it.

8. Sentence

   The museum's old clock stopped at noon every Sunday for a reason that the staff found inexplicable, since its gears were clean.

9. 6.

   Bo reads a museum volunteer's log. What does inexplicable mean here?

   • easy to explain
   • impossible to explain
   • impossible to untangle
   • to make plain
10. 7.

    Milo checks four sentences from a robotics-team newsletter. In which sentence is every form of admire right?

    • The judges expressed admirable for the robot's steady arm, calling the design admirable.
    • The judges expressed admiration for the robot's steady arm, calling the design admiration.
    • The judges expressed admiration for the robot's steady arm, calling the design admirable.
    • The judges expressed admire for the robot's steady arm, calling the design admirable.

11. Sentence

    The trip will ___ a stop at the dam, but the steep trail may ___ a hike to the lookout for the youngest campers.

12. 8.

    Zee fills two blanks in a camp trip plan. Which pair of words fits the blanks in order?

    • preclude … include
    • include … seclude
    • conclude … preclude
    • include … preclude
13. 9.

    The volunteers marked each oak with indelible ink, so the numbers would last through years of rain. Kira reads a forestry club's report. What does indelible mean here?

    • not fit to eat
    • unable to be erased
    • to wipe out
    • easy to erase
14. 10.

    Ren checks four sentences from a poetry-class review. In which sentence is every form of exclaim right?

    • The exclamatory in the poem's last line gives the ending an exclamatory tone.
    • The exclaim in the poem's last line gives the ending an exclamatory tone.
    • The exclamation in the poem's last line gives the ending an exclamation tone.
    • The exclamation in the poem's last line gives the ending an exclamatory tone.