Add a Two-Letter Word to Create a New Word

Hi, word detective!

Our letter thief has been at it again!

The thief has stolen three letters from a word but they have left a clue behind to help us figure out what the word is.

 

The three letters make a real word themselves.

 

The clue is a synonym, which is a word with a very similar meaning.

 

Let’s have a look at the partial word:

 

Synonym	Partial Word
investigate	EXPL

 

The word has had three of its letters removed.

 

What could these letters be and where could they have been removed from?

 

 

The stolen letters make the word ORE and the word is EXPLORE.

 

 

 

Here is another word with three missing letters which make a word themselves:

MAHON

 

This time, the thief has left behind a different kind of clue:

 

Clue	Partial Word
A long running event	MAHON

 

What could these letters be and where could they have been removed from?

 

 

The missing letters make the word RAT and the full word is MARATHON.

 

In this activity, you will be a word detective and work out the missing letters in partial words.

 

This time, each of the sets of letters missing also forms a word on its own.

 

The thief has left you a clue or a synonym for each word; this will help you to work out what the full word is.

 

Psssstt!  Here’s a handy hint to help you reach superstar status: You can use a thesaurus to help you if you get stuck.

 

Good luck locating those missing letters and remember that they also make a word on their own!