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Grade 9 Shades of Meaning & Connotation Worksheet with Answers

Grade 9 (US) · Year 10 (UK) · Class 9 (India) · English

Unit 3: VocabularyNuance & Word RelationshipsCCSS L.9-10.5b

Ordering words by strength and telling positive, negative and neutral connotations apart. This free high school worksheet has 12 questions and a full answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF — every answer is checked by code, not guessed.

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Shades of Meaning & Connotation

Grade 9 · English

Score___ / 12

Name

Class

Date

Learning goal: Nuance & Word Relationships · CCSS L.9-10.5b

Directions: This worksheet has 2 parts. Read the instructions at the start of each part.

Example

Which word is stronger: 'tired' or 'exhausted'?

Answer: exhausted

RememberShades of meaning

coolwarmhotscorchingWords can mean nearly the same but be stronger or weaker: look → stare → glare
Part A

Positive or Negative or Neutral connotation? Tick one box for each.

PositiveNegativeNeutral connotation
1thrifty
2'cheap' (describing a person)
3confident
4nosy
Part B

Answer each question. Use full sentences where you can.

  1. 5

    Order from weakest to strongest: like, adore, love

  2. 6

    Order from weakest to strongest: hot, warm, boiling

  3. 7

    Which word is stronger: 'warm' or 'hot'?

    WarmHot
  4. 8

    Which word is stronger: 'big' or 'enormous'?

    BigEnormous
  5. 9

    Which word has a more negative connotation: 'stubborn' or 'determined'?

    StubbornDetermined
  6. 10

    Which word is stronger: 'happy' or 'thrilled'?

    HappyThrilled
  7. 11

    Order from weakest to strongest: jog, sprint, walk

  8. 12

    Order from weakest to strongest: whisper, shout, talk

★ Challenge corner for fast finishers

Unscramble the letters: AHT (clue: you wear it on your head)

How did I do?

Teacher's comments

Free printable worksheets with answer keys · aethelsystems.com/worksheets/english/9/shades_meaning

Answer key (click to show)
  1. 1.positive
  2. 2.negative
  3. 3.positive
  4. 4.negative
  5. 5.like, love, adore
  6. 6.warm, hot, boiling
  7. 7.hot
  8. 8.enormous
  9. 9.stubborn
  10. 10.thrilled
  11. 11.walk, jog, sprint
  12. 12.whisper, talk, shout
  13. ★hat (challenge corner)

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Guides for teaching Shades of Meaning & Connotation

Literary Devices: 20 Examples Every Student Should KnowSimile, metaphor, personification, irony and more — each with a clear definition, an example, and a quick test for telling similar devices apart.Simple, Compound, Complex and Compound-Complex Sentences ExplainedA clear way to tell the four sentence structures apart, with examples and the two-question test students can use on any sentence.

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