4th Grade Vocabulary Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: L.4.6

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

4th grade is quite an academic jump for students compared to previous grade levels. There is a great deal of content headed their way and they begin to ponder the use of vocabulary words that are not often used in everyday speech, by most children. It is a time to mature and get outside of their comfort zone a bit. We will discuss techniques for teachers to use with their 4th grade students below. You will find that many of these vocabulary words will need several different angles of explanation. It is often helpful to use synonyms and antonyms to help explain some of these terms. The worksheets and lessons found below will immerse students in the use of these terms and help them see how they can benefit from using this newfound vocabulary in their own writing.

4th Grade Vocabulary Worksheets To Print:

Sentence Completer - Fill in the blanks with the correct choice from the bank. This can be helpful for words that you have seen before.

Math the Terms - Match each term to its definition. You can use the process of elimination to help you.

Synonyms - Circle the word that is a synonym for the bold word. For extra credit, rewrite the sentence using proper grammar with the term that you chose.

Double Take - Some of these terms may be new for your students. A brief overview should help your students.

Thesauraus Help - Write a synonym for each word. If you need to, use a thesauraus to help you. I would not recommend using electronic sources.

Match Maker - See how you do with more introductory vocabulary. This can be a nice start off for you.

What Is Described? - You will read a sentence and try to determine what it is describing.

Fill Ins - You can do this one with the help of word bank or not. That is really up to how far you have covered in the unit.

Use All Four - Write a brief paragraph that uses all vocabulary terms that have been provided for you.

Terms of Action - Write a synonym and an antonym for each word. Use a thesaurus if you need to. Then use each word in a sentence.

Lighthouse - Make sure to help these sentences get to shore.

Work Through - You may need a dictionary for this one.

Mature Terms - This is a worksheet you will want to use later in the school year. They are more advanced terms.

Monster - You need to come up with words that mean a similar thing. See how this goes for your students.

Sentence Writing - Students are challenged to use new vocabulary in proper context of a sentence.

Helpful Strategies for Teaching 4th Grade Vocabulary Words


All of our staff are either current classroom teachers or have at least a decade of experience. We got together to look at different things that have worked best for their students when learning new vocabulary words, specifically at the 4th grade level. Would you know that over a dozen of us had some pretty sharp ideas. Here they are:


Draw the Words or Emoticons - They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So, it should easily be able to sum up a single word. Have students draw a quick sketch to sum up the meaning of each term. There are several verbs that this can be difficult to sketch quickly. Technology is usually the downfall for this generation, but they love Emoticons. I also tell them to draw an emoticon for each word. They embrace this concept more than you would ever think possible. I just concerned that at this pace, the English written language will become a series of emoticon phrases.


Memory Games - You will need a ton of index cards for this one. Use the non-lined side and have students write the vocabulary term on one card with bold, thick letters. On another non-lined card have students write either a synonym, emoticon, or plain definition. You can even mix and match those. Repeat this for your entire vocabulary list. Then have students place these cards face down. They will then play the classic game of concentration and pick one card at a time trying to find a match. You do this as a cooperative activity with a partner.


Famous One Liners - This is something that we learned from a master teacher that retired over a decade ago. Once students are given a vocabulary list, you give them at least an evening with it. The next day you ask the class for who has constructed the best one liner. That is a simple sentence that is funny and uses at least two of the vocabulary terms. You can vote on the best one liner as a class or have teachers as the judge. We have found it best to have teachers choose the best three for students to vote on to work the best.


Vocab Headbands - This is just what you think it is. You place a vocab term on an index on a student’s forehead, you can place it on a headband. The students then can ask one question to each student in the room to determine the vocab term on their forehead. That all depends on the size of your class. I find that after 15 questions, if a student does not know it, future questions will not help. This is super fun for kids and a great way to spend those extra few minutes you may have on any class day.