Dictionary, thesaurus and glossary skills

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)

   Be·nev·o·lent (buh-NEV-uh-lunt) adjective 1. wishing to do good for others; kindly: a benevolent donor. 2. (formal) organized to give help rather than to make money: a benevolent society. [from Latin bene, 'well' + volens, 'wishing']

2. 1.

   Jun reads the origin of benevolent. The related word malevolent comes from Latin mal-, “badly,” + volens. What does malevolent most likely mean?

   • doing harm without meaning to
   • wishing harm to others
   • wishing to do good for others
   • wishing harm and planning revenge

3. Thesaurus entry (written by PencilGo)

   Benevolent adjective. Group 1, kind and giving: kind (gentle and friendly), generous (giving freely), charitable (giving help to people in need; formal tone), big-hearted (warm and giving; informal tone). Group 2, friendly: cordial (warm and polite; formal tone), chummy (friendly in a casual way; informal tone).

4. 2.

   Kira writes: “The ___ society, founded in 1880, still pays for school lunches for families in need.” Which word from the entry fits this formal sentence best?

   • big-hearted
   • cordial
   • generous
   • charitable

5. Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)

   Be·nev·o·lent (buh-NEV-uh-lunt) adjective 1. wishing to do good for others; kindly: a benevolent donor. 2. (formal) organized to give help rather than to make money: a benevolent society. [from Latin bene, 'well' + volens, 'wishing']

6. 3.

   Luz sees the label (formal) on sense 2. Which sentence uses benevolent in that formal sense?

   • The benevolent old man waved to the children who passed him on the street.
   • A benevolent smile crossed the teacher's face when the class finished early.
   • The Benevolent Society of Maple County gave scholarships to students in need.
   • My uncle is benevolent about sharing his pizza with anyone at the table.

7. Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)

   Di·lem·ma (dih-LEM-uh) noun 1. a situation that forces a choice between two options, both unwelcome: faced a dilemma. 2. (informal) any hard problem: a dilemma about what to wear. [from Greek di-, 'two' + lemma, 'something taken, an assumption']

8. 4.

   Milo uses the origin di-, “two.” Which situation is a dilemma in sense 1?

   • Ren cannot decide which flavor of ice cream to order at the new shop.
   • Ren must choose between two good prizes, a new bike or a new skateboard.
   • Ren must pick between missing the big game and missing the concert, both at the same time.
   • Ren has three assignments due on the same day, and a test the day after.

9. Thesaurus entry (written by PencilGo)

   Dilemma noun. Group 1, a hard situation: predicament (an unpleasant situation), quandary (not knowing what to do), jam (a tight spot; informal tone), bind (no easy way out). Group 2, a puzzle: riddle (a problem to solve), enigma (something hard to understand; formal tone).

10. 5.

    Noah writes: “Tala stood in a ___, unsure which of two paths to take.” Which word from the entry fits best?

    • riddle
    • jam
    • quandary
    • predicament

11. Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)

    Quar·an·tine (KWOR-un-teen) noun 1. a period of isolation to stop a disease from spreading: a ten-day quarantine. 2. (figurative) a state of being kept apart from others: put in quarantine for talking in class. verb to place in quarantine. [from Italian quaranta giorni, 'forty days,' the time ships waited outside Venice]

12. 6.

    Ari reads the origin of quarantine. What does it show about how the word began?

    • It began as the name of a harbor in Italy where ships were held.
    • It began as a rule that forty sailors must be tested before the ship could land.
    • It began as a count of days: forty, the length of time ships were held.
    • It began as a medical test that lasted forty minutes for each sailor.

13. Thesaurus entry (written by PencilGo)

    Quarantine noun. Group 1, being kept apart: isolation (being kept apart to stay safe), seclusion (privacy that a person chooses), confinement (being kept inside a place), lockdown (a strict limit on movement; informal tone). Group 2, a waiting time: delay (time added before something happens), wait (time spent until something happens).

14. 7.

    Bo writes: “The sick traveler stayed in ___ until the doctor said the trip was safe.” Which word from the entry fits best?

    • isolation
    • seclusion
    • delay
    • lockdown

15. Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)

    Quar·an·tine (KWOR-un-teen) noun 1. a period of isolation to stop a disease from spreading: a ten-day quarantine. 2. (figurative) a state of being kept apart from others: put in quarantine for talking in class. verb to place in quarantine. [from Italian quaranta giorni, 'forty days,' the time ships waited outside Venice]

16. 8.

    Tala sees the label (figurative) on sense 2. Which sentence uses quarantine in that figurative sense?

    • The ship waited ten days in quarantine outside the harbor at Venice.
    • The noisy radio was put in quarantine at the back of the room.
    • The ten-day quarantine ended on Friday.
    • Nurses will quarantine anyone who has caught the illness.

17. Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)

    Ro·bot (ROH-bot) noun 1. a machine that carries out a series of actions on its own, often shaped like a person: a factory robot. 2. a person who acts mechanically, without feeling: spoke like a robot. 3. (informal) a program that does tasks online by itself; also called a bot. [from Czech robota, 'forced labor'; introduced by the writer Karel Čapek in a 1920 play]

18. 9.

    Esme reads the origin of robot: Czech robota, “forced labor.” What does that suggest about how the first robots in the play were imagined?

    • As free helpers who chose their work.
    • As soldiers built to fight in wars.
    • As clever inventors who solved problems.
    • As workers made to do hard jobs for people.

19. Thesaurus entry (written by PencilGo)

    Robot noun. Group 1, a self-working machine: machine (any device that does work), automaton (a self-moving device, often clockwork or old-fashioned), android (a robot made to look human), droid (a robot in science fiction; informal tone). Group 2, a mindless follower: puppet (someone controlled by another), drone (someone who works without thinking; informal tone).

20. 10.

    Ren writes: “In the museum, a clockwork ___ from the 1700s, a brass duck, flapped its wings and quacked.” Which word from the entry fits best?

    • android
    • automaton
    • puppet
    • droid