Home / English / Printables / Grade 4 / Paraphrase What You Heard 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.
One paper per student
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Paraphrase What You Heard SL.4.2
Name Date
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: "The museum is closed on Mondays but open late on Fridays." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. The museum is open every day. B. The museum closes early on Friday. C. You cannot visit on Monday, but you can stay late on Friday. 3. A speaker says: "The bridge cut the journey from two hours to fifteen minutes." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. The bridge took two hours to build. B. The bridge made the trip much quicker. C. The journey became longer. 4. 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. Nobody ever used the mold. C. The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine. 5. A speaker says: "If we leave now, we will miss the worst of the traffic." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. There is no traffic today. B. We should wait for the traffic to get worse. C. Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic. 6. 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 fewer cans this semester. B. Last year we collected no cans. C. We collected more cans in one semester than all last year. 7. A speaker says: "Most of the rain falls in just three months of the year." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. Most of the year's rain comes in a short season. B. It rains the same amount all year. C. It never rains for three months. 8. A speaker says: "Please keep the lab door shut, or the mice may escape." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. Leave the door open for the mice. B. Shut the door so the mice cannot get out. C. The mice have already escaped. LessonPrint · SL.4.2 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Paraphrase What You Heard Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.
1. Many fruits only grow because bees move pollen. 2. You cannot visit on Monday, but you can stay late on Friday. 3. The bridge made the trip much quicker. 4. The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine. 5. Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic. 6. We collected more cans in one semester than all last year. 7. Most of the year's rain comes in a short season. 8. Shut the door so the mice cannot get out. Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.4.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.