Words that mean almost the same thing
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Writer
a museum guide. Audience: visiting seventh graders. Purpose: to spark curiosity about an old tool without talking down.
The loom in front of you is more than 150 years old, and it is an (A) ____ machine: every thread had to be placed by hand. Weavers who worked here learned to read patterns the way you read music. Some visitors admire the loom's (B) ____ design, but notice how many parts must move together before one inch of cloth appears. Please look closely, and ask me anything.
Pia reads a museum guide's talk for seventh graders. Which word best fits blank (A)?
- clumsy
- intricate
- convoluted
- fiddly
Ren picks the word for blank (B). Which word best fits the guide's purpose and audience, and why?
- ingenious: it credits the clever thinking in the design and respects the visitors
- fancy: it is casual, so the visitors will relax and enjoy the tour
- cute: it is short and friendly, so seventh graders will follow it easily
- nice: it is plain and safe, so no visitor could misread it
Tala changes one word in the passage: learned becomes memorized. How does that change the way the reader sees the weavers?
- Memorized suggests rote repetition rather than understanding, which makes the weavers' skill sound mechanical.
- The weavers now work on a different machine, so the facts of the passage change.
- Nothing changes, because learned and memorized both mean the weavers knew the patterns, so the skill sounds the same.
- Memorized makes the weavers sound more creative and understanding than learned does.
Writer
a sports reporter. Audience: readers of a town newspaper. Purpose: a respectful profile of a veteran runner.
At forty-one, Marcus Bell is no longer the fastest runner at the Riverside Track Club, and he knows it. His pace has slipped by nearly a minute per mile since his twenties. Still, he arrives at six every morning, a (A) ____ presence among younger runners who watch how he pours water over his neck at the finish. Asked whether he will quit, he gave a short, (B) ____ laugh and tied his shoes.
Zee reads a profile of a veteran runner. Which word best fits blank (A)?
- stale
- reliable
- obstinate
- predictable
Ari checks four near-synonyms for blank (B). Which choice names the word that is wrong for these readers and gives the right reason? Words: wry, rueful, good-natured, mocking.
- good-natured: it is too vague to show anything about the runner
- mocking: it suggests he laughs at the question, which clashes with a respectful profile
- mocking: it is too informal a word for a respectful profile in a town newspaper read by many families
- wry: it means bitter and angry, which clashes with the runner's calm
Bo changes one word in the passage: slipped becomes collapsed. How does that change the way the reader sees the runner?
- The runner now slows by a different number of minutes, so the facts change.
- Collapsed makes the decline sound sudden and severe, which turns respect into pity.
- Collapsed makes the decline sound smaller and easier to accept than slipped does.
- Nothing changes, because slipped and collapsed both mean the runner got slower over the years.
Writer
a student. Audience: the school board. Purpose: to disagree respectfully with a proposal.
The board's plan to shorten lunch to fifteen minutes is well meant, but I believe it is (A) ____. Students need time to eat, and the line alone takes eight minutes. I do not suggest that the board has ignored these facts; I suggest only that the plan, as written, (B) ____ them. A twenty-minute lunch would still save time and would let students eat.
Jun checks four near-synonyms for blank (B). Which choice names the word that is wrong for this reader and gives the right reason? Words: overlooks, neglects, underestimates, ignores.
- ignores: it suggests the board chose not to care, which contradicts the sentence before it
- overlooks: it accuses the board of not caring about students, which the writer just denied
- ignores: it is too casual a word for a letter to a school board that reads many letters
- underestimates: it is too weak to show that the plan has a real problem for students
Kira changes one word in the passage: believe becomes insist. How does that change the way the reader sees the writer?
- The writer now disagrees with a different plan, so the facts change.
- Nothing changes, because believe and insist both state the writer's opinion.
- Insist makes the writer sound more flexible and willing to compromise than believe does.
- Insist makes the writer sound firm and less open to the board's view.
Writer
a science writer. Audience: general readers. Purpose: a careful report on a single study.
A team at a state university (A) ____ that students who walk before a test score about three points higher. The team tested ninety students over one semester. Other researchers say the sample was small and (B) ____ that a larger study is needed before schools change schedules. The authors welcome the criticism and have begun to recruit more students.
Milo checks four near-synonyms for blank (B). Which choice names the word that is wrong for these readers and gives the right reason? Words: argue, suggest, note, complain.
- complain: it is too informal a word for a science news report read by many people
- complain: it suggests whining about the study, which undercuts a fair report
- note: it is too weak to show that the critics disagree with the study
- argue: it suggests a loud quarrel, which clashes with a careful report
Noah changes one word in the passage: welcome becomes tolerate. How does that change the way the reader sees the authors?
- Nothing changes, because welcome and tolerate both mean the authors accept the criticism.
- Tolerate suggests the authors put up with the criticism reluctantly, though they still respond.
- Tolerate makes the authors sound more eager for criticism than welcome does, as if they were asking for it.
- The authors now stop recruiting students, so the facts of the passage change.