Same or Opposite? Synonyms and Antonyms

About This Resource

A free Grade 3 ESL vocabulary worksheet pack on synonyms and antonyms: words with the same or nearly the same meaning, words with opposite meanings, matching and sorting word pairs, choosing a better word in a sentence and rewriting sentences. Includes a timed lesson plan, worksheet, editable Word version and answer key.

Overview

Children learn that synonyms are words with the same or nearly the same meaning (big and large) and antonyms are words with opposite meanings (big and small). They match synonym pairs, find antonyms, sort word pairs into synonyms and antonyms, choose a synonym to make a sentence more interesting and rewrite sentences using antonyms.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Synonyms and Antonyms
Category: Vocabulary
File Type: PDF
File Size: 247.3 KB
Published: 31 Oct 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 3 ESL (ages 8–9), A2 40 minutes Vocabulary reading writing word meaning

Student Task

Write happy on the board. Ask for a word that means the same (glad) and a word that means the opposite (sad).
Teach the two terms, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
Children complete activities 3 to 5; answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

Same or opposite? Say two words; children put thumbs up for synonyms and thumbs down for antonyms.
Word ladder: write a plain word such as nice and children list as many synonyms as they can in one minute.
Memory pairs: turn over two cards and keep them if they are synonyms or antonyms.

Differentiation

Support: focus on antonyms first, which are easier to picture, and use picture cards. Challenge: use a children's thesaurus to find three synonyms for said and good.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 4 check synonyms and antonyms (answer key included). Activity 5 checks using words in sentences.

Learning Objectives

Explain the difference between a synonym and an antonym.
Match common words to their synonyms and antonyms.
Use synonyms to make writing more interesting.

Teacher Tips

A memory trick: Synonyms are the Same (both start with S). Antonyms are Against each other (both start with A).

What's Included

6-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (4 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (5 activities)
Editable Word version of the worksheet
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)