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Literal or Not? is a free printable Grade 3 English worksheet on telling words that mean what they say from words that do not, aligned to Common Core standard RL.3.4. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 24 of them with different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 4 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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One paper per pupil

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. 24 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.

Literal or Not?

RL.3.4

NameDate

Read the text, then answer the questions.

1.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Wrong Bus

Halim was two stops past the school before he looked up. The bus was going the other way. He had got on at the same shelter, in the same rain, and never checked the number. His stomach dropped. He thought about crying and decided against it, because it would not help. He read the route map above the window. He worked out that the 41 came back the same way. He rang the bell, got off, crossed at the lights, and waited eleven minutes for the 41. He was twenty minutes late. Mrs Achebe asked what happened. "I got the wrong bus," said Halim, "and then I got the right one."

  1. 1. Halim's last line has two meanings at once. What are they?
  2. 2. "His stomach dropped" — is this literal? What does it mean?
2.Read the text, then answer the questions.

The Museum Key (a scene from a play)

SCENE TWO. The museum store room. Night. Boxes everywhere. A single desk lamp. PRIYA: (whispering) It was here on Tuesday. On this shelf. JON: You are sure it was this shelf? PRIYA: I dusted it. I am sure. JON: (lifting a lid) Then somebody moved it after Tuesday. PRIYA: Or before Tuesday, and I dusted the empty space. (Pause. JON puts the lid down slowly.) JON: That is worse. PRIYA: I know.

  1. 1. "I dusted the empty space" — what does Priya mean?

LessonPrint · RL.3.4 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Literal or Not?

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Literally he took two buses; it also means he made a mistake and then put it right. 2. Nonliteral. It means he felt a sudden lurch of fear, not that his stomach moved.
  2. 2.1. That the object may already have been gone, and she cleaned the shelf without noticing.

More practice for RL.3.4

Tell when words mean what they say and when they do not.

Teaching this next? Literal and Non-Literal Language is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RL.3.4 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.