5th Grade Vocabulary Worksheets

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Next step Next: take one word apart on a word map Spell fifth grade words

All 96 words

Thinking words 12

apply To put a rule or an idea to use. Apply the rule to the next five problems.
define To give the meaning of a word. Define the word orbit before you use it.
determine To decide or settle something after looking at the facts. The judges will determine the winner tonight.
develop To grow into something fuller or more complete. The seed will develop into a tall plant.
discuss To talk about a subject with other people. We will discuss the chapter in small groups.
illustrate To make an idea clear by giving an example. Illustrate your point with a story from your own life.
influence To change how a person thinks or acts. Friends can influence the books you choose.
locate To discover the exact spot of something. Locate the river on the map.
organize To arrange things by a plan so they are easy to use. Organize your notes by topic.
review To look over something again to check it. Review your work before you hand it in.
sequence A set of events or steps that come in a fixed order. Put the four pictures in sequence.
support To back up an idea with facts or reasons. Support your answer with two details from the text.

Show all 96 words (84 more)

Describing words 12

dense With its parts packed closely together. We could not see far in the dense fog.
frequent Happening again and again. Frequent rain kept the fields green.
hazardous Risky and able to hurt someone. Ice made the steps hazardous.
hesitant Slow to act because you feel unsure. She was hesitant to dive into the cold pool.
immense So large that it is hard to measure. An immense wave crashed over the rocks.
jagged Having a rough edge with sharp points. Jagged rocks lined the shore.
peculiar Strange in a way that gets noticed. The old clock made a peculiar ticking sound.
permanent Lasting without end; not going away. The ink left a permanent mark on the desk.
remote Far from towns and cities. They camped beside a remote mountain lake.
severe Very bad or very strong. A severe storm knocked down the fence.
sufficient Enough for what must be done. We have sufficient paint for one wall.
temporary Meant to stay or be used for a short while. The class met in a temporary room during repairs.

Action words 12

acquire To come to own something or to learn a skill. She hopes to acquire a second language.
cease To come to an end. The rain will cease by morning.
collapse To fall down suddenly. The old shed may collapse in a strong wind.
confirm To say or show that something is definitely so. Please confirm the date of the field trip.
deliver To take something to a person or a place. A driver will deliver the package on Friday.
distribute To hand something out to several people. Two students distribute the papers each morning.
emerge To come out into view. A turtle began to emerge from the pond.
linger To stay somewhere longer than needed. A few fans linger after the game ends.
navigate To steer a course to the place you want to reach. Sailors once used the stars to navigate.
preserve To stop something from decaying or being damaged. Salt helps preserve fish for the winter.
retreat To pull back to a safer place. The hikers had to retreat from the rising water.
transform To change completely in form or looks. Heat will transform the dough into bread.

Life science words 12

carnivore An animal whose diet is mostly meat. A wolf is a carnivore.
extinct Having died out, so that none of its kind is left. The woolly mammoth is an extinct animal.
food chain The order in which living things eat one another. Grass, a rabbit and a hawk form a food chain.
germinate To start to sprout from a seed. Bean seeds germinate in warm, damp soil.
herbivore An animal whose food is mostly plants. A rabbit is a herbivore.
inherit To get a feature from a parent. Puppies inherit the color of their fur.
life cycle The full round of changes in a plant's or animal's life. A butterfly's life cycle has four stages.
omnivore An animal whose diet mixes plants and meat. A raccoon is an omnivore.
pollen Tiny grains made in a flower that are needed to start seeds. Bees carry pollen from flower to flower.
producer An organism, such as a plant, that builds food from sunlight. Grass is a producer in a prairie.
species Living things of one kind that can have young together. The giant panda is a species of bear.
vertebrate An animal that has a backbone. A frog is a vertebrate.

United States history words 12

amendment An official change to a law or a constitution. The First Amendment protects free speech.
congress The group of people elected to make a nation's laws. A new law must pass in Congress.
document A paper that gives facts or proof. The museum keeps the document behind glass.
expedition A journey by a group to explore or study a place. The expedition crossed the mountains to reach the ocean.
frontier The far border of a settled region, with wild land beyond. Families moved west to the frontier.
liberty The state of being free to act and speak. The colonists wanted liberty.
patriot Someone devoted to their country and ready to defend it. A patriot spoke to the crowd.
representative Someone elected to act for a group of people. Each state sends at least one representative.
republic A nation whose leaders are chosen by voters. The United States is a republic.
revolution The removal of a government by its own people. The thirteen colonies broke from British rule in a revolution.
tax Money a government collects to pay for its work. The colonists were angry about a tax on tea.
trade The exchange of goods for money or for other goods. Trade grew along the rivers.

Reading and writing words 12

alliteration The same first sound in words that are close together. Peter Piper picked is alliteration.
autobiography A book someone writes about their own life. She wrote her autobiography at eighty.
draft An early version of writing that will be changed. My first draft had no ending.
edit To correct and improve a piece of writing. Edit your story for spelling and commas.
genre A type of story or book, such as science fiction. Science fiction is my favorite genre.
hyperbole An exaggeration used to make a point. I have told you a million times is hyperbole.
idiom A phrase that means something other than its words say. It is raining cats and dogs is an idiom.
myth An age-old story in which gods or heroes shape the world. A Greek myth explains the seasons.
onomatopoeia A word that copies the sound of the thing it stands for. Sizzle and clang are onomatopoeia.
personification Describing an object or idea as if it were a person. The wind whispered is personification.
point of view The angle from which a narrator sees and reports events. The story is told from the dog's point of view.
topic sentence The sentence that states a paragraph's subject. Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence.

Latin roots 12

dent Tooth. As in dental, dentist.
flor Flower. As in floral, florist.
herb Grass or plant. As in herbivore, herbal.
ign Fire. As in ignite, ignition.
lum Light. As in luminous, illuminate.
mem Mindful, remembering. As in memory, memorize.
min Small or less. As in minimum, minus.
nav Ship. As in navy, navigate.
noct Night. As in nocturnal, nocturne.
prim First. As in primary, prime.
sign A mark. As in signal, signature.
viv To live. As in vivid, survive.

Character words 12

considerate Thinking about what other people need or feel. It was considerate to hold the door.
courageous Brave when facing danger or pain. The courageous girl spoke up for her friend.
dependable Never letting down the people who rely on you. Our dependable neighbor waters the plants.
honest Truthful and fair, with no tricks or lies. Be honest about what happened.
mischievous Enjoying playful trouble. The mischievous kitten hid my socks.
modest Not boasting about what you can do. The modest champion thanked her team.
optimistic Hopeful that things will turn out well. He felt optimistic about the tryouts.
patient Willing to wait without getting upset. The patient fisherman sat for hours.
persistent Continuing to try even when it is hard. A persistent student solved the puzzle at last.
responsible Having a duty to take care of something. Each helper is responsible for one class pet.
selfish Putting your own wishes ahead of everyone else's. It would be selfish to keep all the markers.
stern Serious and strict. The coach gave a stern warning.

How this list was compiled: Word list chosen for this site on 2026-10-02; the grade is our suggestion and the list follows no published program, exam or standard. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the entry for the word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: it gives a sense the entry lists, in shorter words. The example sentence after each meaning is our own. The twelve Latin roots were checked against the Wiktionary entries for the Latin words they come from (lumen, ignis, primus, signum, vivo, memor, herba, navis, flos, dens, minor, nox); the English words given with each root were traced to that Latin word in Wiktionary, directly or through an earlier form (herbal through herb, dentist through the French dent). Topic sentence was checked in its own Wiktionary entry. Facts named in the examples (the woolly mammoth is extinct, the giant panda is a bear, the raccoon eats plants and animals, the rabbit is a herbivore, a frog is a vertebrate, a butterfly's life cycle has four stages, each state has at least one representative, the First Amendment protects speech, the anger over the tea tax) were read on 2026-10-02 in the articles on each subject at https://en.wikipedia.org/. Licence: own work

How it works

These 5th grade vocabulary worksheets print twelve words down the left and their meanings, mixed up, down the right. Seven sets hold words such as determine, peculiar and amendment, and an eighth holds twelve Latin roots.

Read the full guide

Seven word sets

Set opens on Thinking words. The others are Describing, Action, Life science, United States history, Reading and writing, and Character words. The list is our own suggestion for fifth grade, and no word on it is on our third or fourth grade lists.

Latin roots

The Latin roots set matches lum, ign, prim, sign, viv, mem, herb, nav, flor, dent, min and noct to what each means. Under the tool every root has two English words built on it, such as ignite and ignition.

Words from your own unit

Type lines such as colony = a place ruled by a distant country in the box above the sheet. Your pairs print in place of ours.

Under the tool each word has a sentence that uses it: Salt helps preserve fish for the winter.
Cut and paste, under Answer by, prints fewer pairs, with the meanings as tiles to cut out.

Questions and answers

What vocabulary words should a 5th grader know?

There is no single official list. Ours suggests words a fifth grader meets in reading, science and social studies, such as sequence, hazardous, germinate, republic and hyperbole, with twelve Latin roots. Treat the grade as a suggestion.

Are these 5th grade vocabulary worksheets free to print?

Yes. Press Print worksheet and the sheet prints on Letter or A4, or saves as a PDF from your browser. There is nothing to sign up for.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. It prints as the last page unless you uncheck Add an answer key as the last page, under More options. See the answers, in the same place, checks a sheet on screen.

How were the meanings checked?

Each meaning is in our own words and gives a sense that Wiktionary lists for the word, read on 2 October 2026. The roots were checked against the entries for the Latin words they come from.

All 96 words

Thinking words 12

Describing words 12

Action words 12

Life science words 12

United States history words 12

Reading and writing words 12

Latin roots 12

Character words 12

How it works

Seven word sets

Latin roots

Words from your own unit

Questions and answers

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