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10 printable sets · answer key on every set

Greek and Latin Roots Worksheets

  • CCSS L.4.4.b
  • 16 items per set
  • Answer key included

What this skill is

Recognizing a shared word part (usually from Greek or Latin) that carries meaning across many English words — bio means life in biology, biography, and antibiotic.

When it comes up: Fourth grade.

The mistake to watch for

Assuming any matching letters are the root — spotting "art" inside "start" and treating it as meaningful, when it's coincidental.

How to help

Confirm the root's meaning actually fits the word's meaning before treating a match as real. If the meaning doesn't connect, the letters matching is a coincidence, not a root.

Next: Figurative language in fifth grade, a different kind of meaning-beyond-the-literal-words skill.

A worked example

The Latin root 'aqua' means water, so an aquarium is a place for water animals. Learn a root and you can guess many words: aquatic, aqueduct.

Words to know

root
The main part of a word that other parts are added to, like aqua in aquarium.
prefix
A group of letters added to the front of a word to change its meaning, like un- in unhappy.
suffix
A group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning, like -ful in helpful.
meaning
What a word or a sentence tells you.
word
A group of letters that has a meaning.

Practice

Give a word that uses the root, using the example as a model.

Showing Set 1 · 16 items

  1. The root 'aqua' means "water". Which word uses it? thermometer / aquarium
  2. The root 'rupt' means "break". Which word uses it? visible / interrupt
  3. The root 'port' means "carry". Which word uses it? photograph / transport
  4. The root 'struct' means "build". Which word uses it? inspect / construction
  5. The root 'spect' means "look". Which word uses it? interrupt / inspect
  6. The root 'vis' means "see". Which word uses it? interrupt / visible
  7. The root 'bio' means "life". Which word uses it? geography / biology
  8. The root 'dict' means "say/speak". Which word uses it? predict / biology
  9. The root 'chrono' means "time". Which word uses it? chronological / mobile
  10. The root 'photo' means "light". Which word uses it? photograph / transport
  11. The root 'scope' means "see/watch". Which word uses it? construction / telescope
  12. The root 'cred' means "believe". Which word uses it? credible / geography
  13. The root 'mob' means "move". Which word uses it? mobile / aquarium
  14. The root 'therm' means "heat". Which word uses it? thermometer / visible
  15. The root 'tele' means "far". Which word uses it? inspect / telephone
  16. The root 'geo' means "earth". Which word uses it? telephone / geography

Download this set16 items · answer key included PDF

Answer key
  1. aquarium
  2. interrupt
  3. transport
  4. construction
  5. inspect
  6. visible
  7. biology
  8. predict
  9. chronological
  10. photograph
  11. telescope
  12. credible
  13. mobile
  14. thermometer
  15. telephone
  16. geography

All 10 sets

Each set is a different list of 16 items with its own answer key. Use the buttons above to look at one on this page, or download any of them as a PDF.

How these sheets were made
  • Problems are generated for each set and checked against L.4.4.b before the sheet is built — no duplicates, and every problem falls inside the standard's number range.

Common Core State Standards © 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.