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SKILLS
94NA
Word
Express
My
Writer's
Handbook
by Deanne Kells
NAME
Level
E
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Anna and Zeke’s
Table of Contents
Word List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–25
Homophones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26–27
Some words are spelled the same
but used differently! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28–29
Easily Confused Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30–31
Proofreading Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
How to Use This Book
These definitions will help you…
root word: a word, or part of a word, that always means the same
thing. Root words are used to make other words.
word family: a group of words that comes from the same
root word. Related words can be different parts of speech.
write: writes, writing, wrote, writer
In the Word List on pages 3–25,
these symbols will help you!
Go look at this word’s root word
and other members of this
word family.
Go check out a word that
sounds the same but is
spelled differently, called
a homophone. Defining
homophone sentences
are on pages 26–27.
Word Express
94NA
The blank line
s
can be used to
:
Write words from th
e
Word List for prac
tice.
Write sentences usin
g
from the Word List words
.
Add your own word
s to
the list.
ISBN# 1-58620-905-1
EVP, Publisher: Steven Zweig; VP, Creative Director: Spencer Brinker; VP of Production: Dina Goren; Executive Editor: Adriana
Velez; Art Director: Farzana Razak; Senior Development Editor: Elizabeth Jaffe; Development Editor: Hank Nourse; Author:
Deanne Kells; Designer: Janet Yuen; Layout Artist: Kathrin Ayer; Illustrator: Jacob Nicholas; Cover Design: Farzana Razak.
Triumph Learning®, 136 Madison Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10016 © 2005 Triumph Learning®, LLC
A Haights Cross Communications, Inc. Company • All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in
whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
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Homophones
are
words that sound the same but have
different meanings and spellings.
aide/aid
The nurse’s aide went from room to
room to check on each patient. He used
a rolling cart to aid him in bringing the
supplies he needed.
assistance/assistants
The star needed assistance getting into
her costume. She called on her two
assistants to help her.
bred/bread
I grew up on a ranch, where my parents
bred cattle. Every night my mother
served freshly baked bread with dinner.
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fair/fare
We’re going to the state fair on
Saturday. It’s opening day, and there’s no
fare to get in.
flea/flee
There was a flea on my dog Brownie.
When I sprayed Brownie with “Flea
Be Gone,” I held her tight so she could
not flee.
grate/great
I don’t like to grate cheese. I do think it
tastes great, though.
cell/sell
For research, I need to look closely at a
tiny human cell. I will go to the store,
where they sell microscopes.
haul/hall
We had to haul the boxes out of the
basement. We took them up the stairs,
down the hall, and out the front door to
the moving van.
course/coarse
Our jogging course is slippery on winter
mornings. We sprinkle coarse sand
along the path to make it safer.
horse/hoarse
Veronica screamed with excitement the
first time she rode a horse. That night,
her voice was hoarse.
creek/creak
At night, as I’m falling asleep, I can hear
the water in the creek behind our
house. Sometimes I hear the creak of
Mom’s rocking chair, too.
idle/idol
I could not stand to be idle all day.
That’s why a busy person like Grandpa
is my idol.
instance/instants
One instance of sliding on ice on a bike
is too many. My life flashed before me in
brief instants of time.
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Homophones
leek/leak
I decided to add a leek to my soup.
When I went to wash it, I noticed the
kitchen faucet had sprung a leak.
shear/sheer
I do not like to shear the wool from our
sheep. It is by sheer force of will that I
help my father do it.
lone/loan
My aunt is the lone member of our
family with a college degree. She
promised to help me get a loan so I can
go to college, too.
sole/soul
Playing the piano is not Tasha’s sole
talent. She also sings with a lot of soul.
mail/male
Have you checked the mail today? Did you
get a letter from your male friend in Ohio?
moan/mown
Jeffrey’s parents can’t moan about him
avoiding his chores today. It’s only noon,
and already he’s mown the lawn.
mussel/muscle
A mussel seems like a slimy thing to
eat. I wonder if it will help me build
more muscle, though.
whale/wail
When the whale reached the surface of
the water, air rushed from its blowhole.
It sounded like a loud wail.
yoke/yolk
The oxen wore a heavy yoke. It was
made of wood painted yellow, like the
color of an egg yolk.
Let’s go to the
fair this weekend!
What’s the fare
to get in?
peer/pier
Sometimes it helps to talk to a peer. My
best friend and I like to chat while sitting
on the pier.
read/reed
Devon loves to read. He uses a long,
thin reed as a bookmark.
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