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: "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. Fleming made the medicine by himself. C. Nobody ever used the mold. 2. A speaker says: "The museum is closed on Mondays but open late on Fridays." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. You cannot visit on Monday, but you can stay late on Friday. B. The museum closes early on Friday. C. The museum is open every day. 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: "If we leave now, we will miss the worst of the traffic." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic. B. There is no traffic today. C. We should wait for the traffic to get worse. 5. 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. We collected more cans in one semester than all last year. C. Last year we collected no cans. 6. 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. 7. A speaker says: "Bees carry pollen between flowers, and without them many fruits would never form." Which is the best paraphrase?
A. Many fruits only grow because bees move pollen. B. Flowers grow fruit without any help. C. Bees make fruit taste sweet. 8. 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. Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew. C. Most of the seeds grew well. LessonPrint · SL.4.2 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Paraphrase What You Heard Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.
1. The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine. 2. You cannot visit on Monday, but you can stay late on Friday. 3. A warning came, but too late for most people. 4. Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic. 5. We collected more cans in one semester than all last year. 6. Most of the year's rain comes in a short season. 7. Many fruits only grow because bees move pollen. 8. Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew. Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.4.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.