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Paraphrase What You Heard is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on choosing the paraphrase that keeps what a speaker meant, aligned to Common Core standard SL.4.2. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 17 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Paraphrase What You Heard

SL.4.2

NameDate

Circle the right answer.

1.A speaker says: "Bees carry pollen between flowers, and without them many fruits would never form." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.Bees make fruit taste sweet.
  • B.Many fruits only grow because bees move pollen.
  • C.Flowers grow fruit without any help.
2.A speaker says: "Fleming spotted the mold by luck, but it took others years to make it useful." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine.
  • B.Nobody ever used the mold.
  • C.Fleming made the medicine by himself.
3.A speaker says: "Although the warning was given, most people did not hear it in time." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.Everybody heard the warning early.
  • B.Nobody gave a warning.
  • C.A warning came, but too late for most people.
4.A speaker says: "Only one in ten of the seeds we planted came up, because the soil was too dry." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.The soil was too wet for the seeds.
  • B.Most of the seeds grew well.
  • C.Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew.
5.A speaker says: "Coral is not a plant; it is made of tiny animals." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.Coral is made only of rock.
  • B.Coral is a kind of seaweed.
  • C.Coral is really animals, not a plant.
6.A speaker says: "Please keep the lab door shut, or the mice may escape." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.The mice have already escaped.
  • B.Shut the door so the mice cannot get out.
  • C.Leave the door open for the mice.
7.A speaker says: "Most of the rain falls in just three months of the year." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.It rains the same amount all year.
  • B.Most of the year's rain comes in a short season.
  • C.It never rains for three months.
8.A speaker says: "Our class collected more cans this semester than in the whole of last year." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.We collected more cans in one semester than all last year.
  • B.We collected fewer cans this semester.
  • C.Last year we collected no cans.

LessonPrint · SL.4.2 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Paraphrase What You Heard

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Many fruits only grow because bees move pollen.
  2. 2.The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine.
  3. 3.A warning came, but too late for most people.
  4. 4.Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew.
  5. 5.Coral is really animals, not a plant.
  6. 6.Shut the door so the mice cannot get out.
  7. 7.Most of the year's rain comes in a short season.
  8. 8.We collected more cans in one semester than all last year.

More practice for SL.4.2

Put part of what you heard or saw into your own words.

Teaching this next? Paraphrasing What You Heard is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 4 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.4.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.