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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 9 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: "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 really animals, not a plant.
  • C.Coral is a kind of seaweed.
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.Fleming made the medicine by himself.
  • C.Nobody ever used the mold.
3.A speaker says: "The bridge cut the journey from two hours to fifteen minutes." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.The bridge made the trip much quicker.
  • B.The bridge took two hours to build.
  • C.The journey became longer.
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 wolves changed where elk fed, not only how many there were.
  • B.The wolves ate all the elk.
  • C.The elk ate the wolves' food.
5.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.
6.A speaker says: "Although the warning was given, most people did not hear it in time." Which is the best paraphrase?
  • A.Nobody gave a warning.
  • B.Everybody heard the warning early.
  • C.A warning came, but too late for most people.
7.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.Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew.
  • B.The soil was too wet for the seeds.
  • C.Most of the seeds grew well.
8.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.Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic.
  • C.We should wait for the traffic to get worse.

LessonPrint · SL.4.2 · Set 9 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Paraphrase What You Heard

Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Coral is really animals, not a plant.
  2. 2.The find was lucky, but others worked for years to make a medicine.
  3. 3.The bridge made the trip much quicker.
  4. 4.The wolves changed where elk fed, not only how many there were.
  5. 5.Shut the door so the mice cannot get out.
  6. 6.A warning came, but too late for most people.
  7. 7.Dry soil meant few of the seeds grew.
  8. 8.Leaving now means we avoid most of the traffic.

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.