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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 20 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: "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.A warning came, but too late for most people.
  • C.Nobody gave a warning.
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.Fleming made the medicine by himself.
  • B.The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine.
  • C.Nobody ever used the mold.
3.A speaker says: "The team lost the match, yet the coach said she had never been prouder." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.The coach was angry about the loss.
  • B.The team won, so the coach was proud.
  • C.Even though they lost, the coach was very proud.
4.A speaker says: "Wolves did not just eat elk; they changed where the elk chose to graze." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.The elk ate the wolves' food.
  • B.The wolves ate all the elk.
  • C.The wolves changed where elk fed, not only how many there were.
5.A speaker says: "If we leave now, we will miss the worst of the traffic." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.We should wait for the traffic to get worse.
  • B.There is no traffic today.
  • C.Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic.
6.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.Most of the seeds grew well.
  • B.Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew.
  • C.The soil was too wet for the seeds.
7.A speaker says: "Coral is not a plant; it is made of tiny animals." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.Coral is a kind of seaweed.
  • B.Coral is made only of rock.
  • C.Coral is really animals, not a plant.
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.Last year we collected no cans.
  • C.We collected fewer cans this semester.

LessonPrint · SL.4.2 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Paraphrase What You Heard

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.A warning came, but too late for most people.
  2. 2.The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine.
  3. 3.Even though they lost, the coach was very proud.
  4. 4.The wolves changed where elk fed, not only how many there were.
  5. 5.Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic.
  6. 6.Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew.
  7. 7.Coral is really animals, not a plant.
  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.