Using Roots Words to Determine the Meaning of Words Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: L.3.4.C

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

A root word is foundational part of a word that lays a path to new meaning of the term when a prefix or suffix is added or removed, for that matter. If students do a capturing job to understand as many root words as possible, it really opens up their vocabulary and progress forward in language. There are often times we will come across roots that escape us. Most roots stem from Latin and Greek, if you ever get an opportunity to study these languages you should jump at it. Below you will find a barrage of printable worksheets that all have you work off of the root itself.

Using Roots Words Worksheets To Print:

Dissecting Words - Find out what the prefix and root mean, then what it means when you combine them.

Rooting Out Meaning - All 5 terms share the same root.

Digby Bones - Help lovable Digby find the root or marrow of his bones.

Growing Words - Add suffixes to offend and define those new words.

Root of the Matter - Find the common root of each shape.

A Riddle - To find out, write the meaning of each word on the line. Then write the root of each word below in the numbered boxes.

5 Common Roots - A root is a part of a word that has a meaning of its own. Many of them come from old school terms in the Latin and Greek languages.

Core Families - Fill in the blank in the sentences with the correct word, to show you understand what the word means.

More Root Families - Based on the meaning of the familiar word, what do you think the base means?

What's the Meaning? - Identify the root and write it on the line. Then match each word to its meaning by writing the letter in the blank.

Caravan Word Makeup - The meaning of each term below is included in parentheses. Add prefixes and/or suffixes to each root word below to create as many new words as you can.

Word Safari - Ian the Explorer is off on a safari to discover words that are new to him. Help him to understand the new words by filling out the chart below.

Think like a Writer - Use the Word Bank and what you know about prefixes and suffixes to complete each sentence. Write the word on the line.

What's Related - When a prefix or suffix and a root come together, in most cases the meaning of the word is changed, but you can still dig out the word's meaning by the root!

Using Foundations for Clues - A root is a part of a word that has a meaning of its own. Many new terms can yo come from old words in the Latin and Greek languages.

How to Use Root Words to Determine the Meaning of Words?


A root word is any term that has no prefixes or suffixes attached to it. Their meanings completely change when you add affixes to them. Root can either be in the beginning, middle or end of a word. One of the key characteristics of roots is that they form a basis of new words. Therefore, they are considered the most important part. Writers must pay close attention to roots to figure out their usage and meanings.


Roots words play a major role in determining the meanings of words. Take the word unkind as an example. It's important to break the word into different parts to decode its meaning. This is done by separating the central term and affixes. Kind is the base here because it is used a basis to form a new word and 'un' is an affix.


Understand the meaning of both parts to comprehend the full word. It's always better to figure the meaning of the root word first. For example, kind is an adjective which means friendly or affectionate. Then move on to the meanings of affixes in the word. In this case, 'un' is the prefix which means not. Therefore, the word unkind refers to someone who is not friendly. The same method goes for all the words. For example, decoding the word beautiful is no different than decoding unkind. Beauty is the root in beautiful which means attractive or pretty. 'Ful' is the suffix which is defined as full. Adding 'ful' to beauty means full of attractiveness and beauty.


A thorough understanding of root words helps students know meanings of all the words derived from them. For example, only knowing the meaning of kind helps figure out the meaning of unkind, kindly, and all other words formed from kind. Moreover, maximum knowledge of stem and affixes enriches the vocabulary bank. Hence, keep making efforts to learn the theme from time to time.


You can use roots to find out the meanings of different words. Every word consists of one of them that cannot be further broken down. The root word is the most original form of a word. It has its own specific meaning. You can break a word in three parts to know the meaning. The first part is the prefix that comes before the root word. Then comes the core term itself and after that comes the suffix. Sometimes two root words also combine to form a single word. However, if you know the meaning of the root word, you can easily find the meaning of the actual word. There are some root words that are derived from other languages such as Greek or Latin. The rest of the root words are English.


When you are deriving meaning from the root word, you actually look at the meaning of the root word itself. Then you connect that meaning to the other parts of the word. You either connect the meaning with affixes or the other root word. The combined meaning of all the parts is the actual meaning of the word. Here are some root words with meanings. You can memorize all of them for your ease. You will be able to guess the meaning of words accurately with the help of this list.


Greek and Latin Root Words


Root Word------Meaning


astro------star aud------hear auto------self bene------good cred------believe dict------say meter------measure micro------small form------shape graph------write hydr------water liter------letter multi------many pend------hang port------carry sect------cut apart struct------build tele------from afar therm------heat vac------empty


English Root Words


appear break build care comfort count employ faith friend happy hope joy kind love pack play read use worth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Growing Words Preview