Idioms and old sayings
Grade 6 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Ari reads: "The math quiz was a piece of cake." What does a piece of cake mean?
- a sweet treat
- very easy
- over quickly
- very hard
Bo reads: "Kira felt under the weather and stayed home." What does under the weather mean?
- in a bad mood
- out in the rain
- a little sick
- full of energy
Kira reads: "Before the test, Jun hit the books." What does hit the books mean?
- studied hard
- read for fun
- tapped on the books
- put the books away
What does the adage "Practice makes perfect" mean, Jun?
- one try is enough to do it well
- practice is for people who are already perfect
- working with others makes a job easier
- doing something often makes you better at it
What does the adage "Look before you leap" mean, Luz?
- practice a thing until it is perfect
- think before you act
- act fast before the chance is gone
- check the ground before a jump
What does the adage "Many hands make light work" mean, Milo?
- a job goes faster when one person does it
- think before you start a job
- a job is easier when many people help
- hands feel lighter after work
Is "break the ice" an idiom or an adage, Noah?
- An adage: an old saying with advice
- An idiom: a phrase with a special meaning
- An adage: a saying about winter
- Neither: it means to crack ice
Is "spill the beans" an idiom or an adage, Ren?
- Neither: it means to drop food
- An adage: a saying about cooking
- An idiom: a phrase with a special meaning
- An adage: an old saying with advice
On the fence. Intended meaning: ? Tala reads: "Ren was on the fence about joining the club." What is the intended meaning?
- Ren was worried about trouble
- Ren sat on a fence
- Ren had decided to join
- Ren could not decide
Called it a day. Intended meaning: ? Zee reads: "Our talk was going nowhere, so we called it a day." What is the intended meaning?
- we stopped for now
- we kept going through the night
- we started over
- we named the day