Skip to content
eurekami
Menu

Free resources

Learn

Exams

Play

For

Sign up freeLog inEspañol

Year 9 in England

8th grade vocabulary

6 8th grade vocabulary skills, each with a worked example, free practice that checks every answer, and a printable worksheet. Start with a mixed review, or jump to the skill you need.

Mixed review

Ten questions drawn from every skill below.

Print a review worksheetRiddle puzzle on screenBingo

Allusion, irony, oxymoron and pun

CCSS L.8.5.ACCSS RL.8.4England: KS3 ReadingEngland: GCSE English Language (language analysis)

Example

Which device is used? The fire station burned down.

  1. Allusion refers to a known story; an oxymoron puts opposites together; a pun plays on meanings; irony contrasts expectation and reality.
  2. So the answer is: situational irony

Answer: situational irony

Builds on: Figurative language: personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia

Leads to: Verbal, situational and dramatic irony, Euphemism, oxymoron, paradox and understatement, Words from myth, literature and history (herculean, quixotic, boycott…)

Print a worksheet✏️ Write on screenFlashcards

Latin roots: vit, mort, corp, nov, ann, fid and more

CCSS L.8.4.BEngland: KS3 English (vocabulary and etymology)

Example

What does the Latin root "magn" mean? (as in magnitude, magnificent, magnify)

  1. Knowing what a Latin root means helps you work out unfamiliar words that contain it.
  2. magn means "great, large", as in magnify, magnificent, magnitude.
  3. So the answer is: great, large

Answer: great, large

Builds on: Latin roots: bene, mal, cred, sequ, vert and more

Leads to: Decoding advanced words from their roots

Print a worksheet✏️ Write on screenFlashcards

Greek roots: arch, crypt, gen, chrom, derm, tox and more

CCSS L.8.4.BEngland: KS3 English (vocabulary and etymology)England: GCSE Combined Science (scientific vocabulary)

Example

What does the Greek root "derm" mean? (as in epidermis, dermatologist, hypodermic)

  1. Knowing what a Greek root means helps you work out unfamiliar words that contain it.
  2. derm means "skin", as in dermatologist, epidermis, hypodermic.
  3. So the answer is: skin

Answer: skin

Builds on: Greek roots: path, phil, phob, psych, poly and more

Leads to: Decoding advanced words from their roots

Print a worksheet✏️ Write on screenFlashcards

Near-synonyms: strength and shades of meaning

CCSS L.8.5.CEngland: KS3 English (vocabulary)England: GCSE English Language (vocabulary for effect)

Example

Choose the word whose exact shade of meaning best fits the context. The scientist ___ the results to be sure they were accurate.

  1. Near-synonyms differ in intensity and connotation; precise writers choose the one that fits exactly.
  2. Checking for accuracy needs very close examination.
  3. Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "The scientist scrutinised the results to be sure they were accurate."
  4. So the answer is: scrutinised

Answer: scrutinised

Builds on: Choosing words to create a tone or mood

Leads to: Word choice that reveals a writer's attitude

Print a worksheet✏️ Write on screenFlashcards

Verbal, situational and dramatic irony

CCSS L.8.5.ACCSS RL.8.6England: KS3 ReadingEngland: GCSE English Literature (drama)

Example

Which type of irony matches this description? An outcome that mocks the intentions or expectations of the people involved.

  1. Irony contrasts appearance and reality: in words (verbal), in events (situational), or in what the audience knows (dramatic).
  2. situational irony: What actually happens is the opposite of what anyone would expect.
  3. So the answer is: situational irony

Answer: situational irony

Builds on: Allusion, irony, oxymoron and pun

Leads to: Euphemism, oxymoron, paradox and understatement, Drama terms: soliloquy, aside, foil, hamartia, catharsis…

Print a worksheet✏️ Write on screenFlashcards

Literal or figurative meaning?

CCSS L.8.5CCSS L.7.5.AEngland: KS3 Reading (language)England: GCSE English Language Paper 1 Q2

Example

Is the phrase in capitals used literally or figuratively? She has A HEART OF GOLD.

  1. Literal language means exactly what it says; figurative language uses words beyond their normal meaning for effect.
  2. It means she is very kind.
  3. So the answer is: figurative

Answer: figurative

Builds on: Idioms and proverbs, Similes and metaphors

Leads to: What does the symbol represent?, Naming language techniques (GCSE)

Print a worksheet✏️ Write on screenFlashcards

Keep exploring

More for 8th grade

Hands-on math tools

English in other grades

Math, English and science that click.

Sign up freePricing
8th grade Vocabulary: Practice and Worksheets | Eurekami