Synonyms Teaching Resources
Explore synonyms in your English classroom with printable synonyms worksheets, board games, and more to help elementary students build their vocabulary.
These teacher-created resources help students define what a synonym is, find synonym examples, explore the difference between a synonym and an antonym, and learn new descriptive words to improve their writing. Download printable and digital resources for your reading and writing rotations or to use in whole class or individual activities.
Has it been a while since you were teaching this part of the literacy curriculum? Our teacher team knows what it’s like to suddenly teach a brand-new year level after years away, so we’ve put together a quick refresher on synonyms! Read on for a guide on what a synonym is, how we use them, and even how to pronounce this tricky word!
Synonym Definition
Let's get started with a kid-friendly definition: Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meanings. This makes them the opposite of antonyms (an antonym to antonyms, if you will!).
What Is a Synonym?
Let's face it: Your students are going to need more than just a definition to really understand what a synonym is.
These words are used in writing to avoid repeating the same word over and over again, making writing less repetitive and more interesting for the reader. Synonyms can also help us find more colourful ways of expressing things as they allow the writer to use a word that's more to the point.
For example, instead of using the word 'happy' multiple times in a story, you could use synonyms like 'joyful,' 'gleeful,' or 'ecstatic' to add variety and depth to your writing. Not only does this make the text more fun to read, but it also lets the reader know the level of a character's happiness.
How to Teach Synonyms And Why It's Important
Learning what a synonym is can help unlock a new level of descriptive writing for young students as they begin to experiment with word choice and explore shades of meaning.
For example, when students know that synonyms for cold include freezing and chilled, writing a story about their winter break goes from featuring repetitive sentences about being 'cold' to a story filled with varied descriptions!
Learning synonyms is also an important feature of social and emotional learning as students learn various words to better express their feelings. Going beyond 'sad or mad' to having more descriptive synonyms for their feelings has been shown to help students feel more in control of their emotions.
Types of Synonyms
As students are flexing their writing muscles and adding different and more descriptive words to their paragraphs and essays, they're going to encounter at least three different synonym types:
Absolute synonyms
Do you have students who tend to think in absolute terms with no room for grey areas? These synonyms will fit them well.
These are words that have the exact same meaning as each other, and they can be used interchangeably in any context. Examples include:
- 'happy' and 'joyful'
- 'big' and 'large'
- 'small' and 'tiny'
Near-synonyms
These words aren't quite the same in meaning, so they're not true synonyms. Still, they come in handy for writers as they learn to seek different words to express what they mean in writing. These words have similar meanings but may differ slightly in terms of intensity, connotation or usage.
Examples of near-synonyms include:
- 'pretty' and 'beautiful'
- 'angry' and 'furious'
- 'smart' and 'intelligent'
Collocative synonyms
These words can be used interchangeably as synonyms but only in certain contexts or with certain words. Some examples of this are:
- 'drink' and 'beverage'
- 'speak' and 'talk'
- 'run' and 'sprint'
Ideas for Teaching Synonyms
Teaching synonyms this school year? The teachers who create the resources on the Teach Starter team have put together some favourite (and preferred!) tips for adding this component of the literacy standards to your lesson planning.
- Create a classroom word bank on your whiteboard or display board to collect synonyms for common words as a whole class. Allow students to add suggestions throughout the school year.
- Introduce students to the thesaurus to learn where and how to look for fresh synonyms when writing.
- Provide students with a list of 'ghost' words, and encourage them to use their new thesaurus skills to find replacements. This is a fun Halloween activity for your rotations!
- Play word match synonym games.
- Provide students with copies of the local or school newspaper, and challenge them to circle as many synonyms as they can find for a list of common words you've listed on your whiteboard such as said, cold, and important.
- Divide students into small groups or pairs, and challenge your students to come up with a list of as many synonyms as they can think of for a word you have said. You can also use this activity to help students practise using antonyms!
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Said is Dead List - Dialogue Tags
Help your students choose a variety of dialogue tags when writing with a fun ‘Said is Dead’ Dialogue Tag List.
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Synonym and Antonym Swap Worksheet
Build vocabulary skills with a printable synonyms and antonyms worksheet.
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Wheely Wonderful Words – Overused Adjectives
Banish overused adjectives with a handy adjective-synonym word wheel!
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Wheely Wonderful Words – Emotional States Vocabulary
A word wheel of synonyms and similar words used to describe emotional states.
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Wheely Wonderful Words – Overused Verbs
Get rid of those overused verbs with a word wheel of synonyms.
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Vivid Verbs Poster Pack
Teach your students to omit boring, overused verbs from their writing with a classroom set of vivid verb posters.
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Synonyms and Antonyms Practise - Worksheets
Boost vocabulary skills with daily review worksheets on synonyms and antonyms.
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Synonyms and Antonyms - Build a Sentence Interactive
Build a strong vocabulary and sentence-writing skills with an interactive synonyms and antonyms sentence-building activity.
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Synonym and Antonym Crossword Puzzle
Review vocabulary skills and boost your students’ knowledge of synonyms and antonyms with a crossword puzzle worksheet.
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Synonym and Antonym Instructional Slides
Build skills in identifying synonyms and antonyms with an interactive instructional slide deck.
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Synonyms and Antonyms - Worksheet Pack
Practice identifying and using synonyms and antonyms with five fun vocabulary worksheets.
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Synonyms - Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle
Boost vocabulary skills with a fun synonym crossword puzzle.
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Synonym and Antonym Posters
Print a pair of handy synonym and antonym anchor charts for your students to reference during writing lessons.
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Synonym Poster Pack - Emotions Chart Display
Blend social-emotional learning and vocabulary building activities with a set of 15 emotional synonyms anchor charts.
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Dialogue Tags List - Vocabulary Chart
Use a Dialogue Tags list to expand your students’ vocabularies and encourage better character development in their writing.
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Wheely Wonderful Dialogue Tags Spinner
Spice up your students' writings and help them choose better dialogue tags with a ‘Wheely’ Wonderful Dialogue Tag Spinner.
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Popcorn Synonyms and Antonyms - Interactive Sort
Make your students’ vocabulary skills ’POP’ with an interactive, drag-and-drop synonym and antonym activity.
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Synonyms Are the Same! – Differentiated Worksheets
Practise identifying and using synonyms in sentences with differentiated synonyms worksheets.
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Synonyms Tarsia Puzzle
Have fun building vocabulary skills with a printable synonyms tarsia puzzle activity.
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Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet - Colour by Code
Explore pairs of synonyms and antonyms with this colour-code worksheet.
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Vibrant Varieties – Other Words for 'Very' Wheel
Replace the word 'very' in your students' writings by giving them a 'wheely' good synonyms reference guide.
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Colour By Code Worksheet - Synonyms and Antonyms
Reveal the hidden picture and practise using synonyms and antonyms with a vocabulary colour-by-code worksheet.
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Which Pair Is It? Synonyms and Antonyms Interactive Activity
Help your students learn new synonyms and antonyms with an interactive matching activity.
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Pick the Synonym - Self-Checking Interactive Activity
Build some ‘llama-zing’ vocabulary skills using a fun llama-themed self-checking activity with synonyms!
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My Book of Synonyms and Antonyms
Combat overused words in your students’ writings by having them build their very own book of synonyms and antonyms.
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Synonyms Interactive Activity
Discover the world of synonyms with an engaging digital learning activity.
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Feelings Synonym Flashcards
Give your students the words and synonyms they need to express emotions and enhance their writing.
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Synonyms Anchor Chart Pack
Print a pack of colourful synonym posters to boost vocabulary in the classroom!
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Synonym Worksheets - Middle Primary
Practise identifying and using synonyms with a set of four synonym worksheets for students in Year 3 and Year 4.
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Synonyms and Antonyms - Digital Sorting Activity
Identify synonyms and antonyms with an interactive, drag-and-drop sorting activity.
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Using a Thesaurus - Synonym Activities
Learn to use a thesaurus to find synonyms with a handy thesaurus anchor chart and differentiated scavenger hunt worksheet pack.
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Synonyms - Printable Flashcards
Build vocabulary skills with individual Synonym anchor chart flash cards.