Grade 3 ELA Practice Test: Prefixes, Suffixes and Context Clues
- Prefixes, Suffixes and Context Clues
- 15 questions
- 20 minutes
Practice figuring out new words from their parts and from the words around them. Tip: cover the prefix or suffix with your finger, read the base word, then add the meaning of the part back on.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
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Question 1
Sam had to unlock the door to get inside.
What does unlock mean?
Correct answer: B
The prefix un- can mean "the opposite of," so unlock means to open a lock. "To lock again" would be relock, because re- means "again."
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Question 2
Which word means "to read again"?
Correct answer: D
The prefix re- means "again," so reread means to read again. A reader is a person who reads, and misread means to read something wrong.
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Question 3
Dad will preheat the oven for ten minutes.
What does the prefix pre- mean in preheat?
Correct answer: A
Pre- means "before." You preheat an oven so it is hot before the food goes in, just like a preview is a look before the real thing.
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Question 4
The fearless firefighter climbed the tall ladder.
What does fearless mean?
Correct answer: C
The suffix -less means "without," so fearless means without fear. "Full of fear" would be fearful, because -ful means "full of."
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Question 5
Which word means "full of color"?
Correct answer: A
The suffix -ful means "full of," so colorful means full of color. Colorless means the opposite: without color.
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Question 6
The pond water was not safe at first, but after the campers boiled it, the water was drinkable.
What does drinkable mean?
Correct answer: B
The suffix -able means "can be" or "able to be," so drinkable water is water that is fit to drink. "One who drinks" would be a drinker, with the suffix -er.
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Question 7
Which word has a prefix that means "not"?
Correct answer: D
Un- means "not," so unhappy means not happy. Replay has re- ("again"), preview has pre- ("before"), and player has a suffix, not a prefix.
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Question 8
Ben and his sister disagree about which movie to watch.
What does disagree mean?
Correct answer: C
The prefix dis- means "not" or "the opposite of," so disagree means not agree. Ben and his sister want to watch different movies.
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Question 9
Jake misplaced his shoes and could not find them anywhere.
What does misplaced mean?
Correct answer: B
The prefix mis- means "wrongly," so misplaced means put in the wrong place. The clue "could not find them" fits this meaning. "Put back in place" would be replaced.
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Question 10
A teacher is a person who teaches.
What do we call a person who paints?
Correct answer: A
The suffix -er can mean "a person who," so a painter is a person who paints. Painted and painting are forms of the verb, and repaint means to paint again.
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Question 11
Which word means "in a slow way"?
Correct answer: C
The suffix -ly often means "in a ... way," so slowly means in a slow way. Slower and slowest compare how slow things are.
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Question 12
The kitten was so timid that it hid under the bed whenever visitors came.
What does timid mean?
Correct answer: D
The clue is that the kitten hid whenever visitors came, which is what a shy, easily scared animal does. A playful kitten would run out to meet the visitors.
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Question 13
The path was narrow, so we had to walk in a single line instead of side by side.
What does narrow mean?
Correct answer: A
People could not walk side by side, so the path did not have much room from one edge to the other. That means narrow is "not wide." A long path could still be wide.
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Question 14
After the long hike, Rosa was famished. She ate two sandwiches, an apple and a big bowl of soup.
What does famished mean?
Correct answer: B
The second sentence is the clue: Rosa ate a lot of food, so she was very hungry. A long hike could make someone tired, but the sentence about eating points to hunger.
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Question 15
Grandpa's old truck is sturdy. It has carried heavy loads for thirty years and has never broken down.
What does sturdy mean?
Correct answer: C
A truck that carries heavy loads for years without breaking is strong and well built, which is what sturdy means. Nothing in the sentences tells how the truck looks or sounds.
Questions you leave blank are not counted as wrong.
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