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Vary Your Word Choice Using Synonyms

In this worksheet, students will choose from a range of words with similar meanings to add variety and interest to their writing.

' Vary Your Word Choice Using Synonyms' worksheet

Key stage:  KS 3

Year:  Year 8 English worksheets

Curriculum topic:   Writing

Curriculum subtopic:   Use Growing Knowledge to Support Writing

Difficulty level:  

Worksheet Overview

In a piece of text, there are a variety of different ways to describe how somebody speaks, walks or behaves.

 

If you want to describe how a character speaks, you could choose from synonyms such as: replied, snapped, laughed, answered, murmured, yelled, giggled, gasped, whispered, shrieked, screamed, asked, exclaimed, shouted, hollered, sneered, muttered, grumbled, wailed, groaned, whimpered, protested, confessed.

 

Synonyms are words or phrases that have the same meaning or almost the same meaning as one another.

 

young boy in t shirt shouting in woods

 

Rather than writing:

"I'm going to the funfair today!" Alice said.

 

You could write:

"I'm going to the funfair today!" Alice giggled excitedly.

"I'm going to the funfair today!" Alice chuckled excitedly.

 

Adding either of these synonyms makes the narrator's description of Alice more vivid and reveals additional information.

 

fairground

 

Now, let's put your understanding of synonyms to the test!

Over to you.

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