Primary 6 Vocabulary Worksheet: Context, Meaning and Application

This worksheet turns the original 2019 word bank into active practice. It is a companion to the main Primary 6 Vocabulary Words page rather than another copy of the same list.

Word bank: figure, forlornly, active, astute, dazed, chores, caregiver, perked up, transfixed, stylish, perched, reprimanded, severe, practically, disciplinarian, retired, inseparable, jeered, snorted, conversation, coincidence, occurred, discovered, incident, thrilled, roared, swerved, indelible, forbidden, licence, interrupted, familiar, swiftly, gleaming, speechless.

Part A — Choose the Best Word

1. The cyclist ________ suddenly when a ball rolled into the road.
2. The audience sat ________ as the gymnast completed the final routine.
3. After the collision, the driver looked ________ and struggled to answer simple questions.
4. Her grandmother ________ when she heard the children arriving at the door.
5. The principal ________ the pupil for repeatedly ignoring the safety rule.
6. The old photograph left an ________ impression on him.
7. Although the proposal looked convincing, Mei was ________ enough to notice the hidden cost.
8. The polished trophy stood ________ beneath the display lights.
9. The engine ________ as the bus climbed the steep hill.
10. The twins were almost ________; they spent nearly every afternoon together.

Part B — Meaning Distinctions

11. Explain the difference between dazed and transfixed.
12. Explain the difference between an incident and a coincidence.
13. Why are active and astute not synonyms?
14. What is the difference between being reprimanded and something being forbidden?
15. How is gleaming different from stylish?

Part C — Word Class, Form and Spelling

16. What word class is swiftly in “She moved swiftly across the room”?
17. Correct the spelling: occured.
18. In Singapore/British English, complete the pair: noun licence; verb ________.
19. Use figure in two sentences with two different meanings.
20. Change forlornly into its adjective form.

Part D — Apply the Vocabulary

21. Write a sentence in which speechless results from happiness.
22. Write a sentence using perched naturally.
23. Write a sentence using practically to mean “almost”.
24. Show what a disciplinarian is through a short scene rather than a definition.
25. Write a sentence in which snorted shows disbelief rather than illness.

Answer Key

1–10: swerved; transfixed; dazed; perked up; reprimanded; indelible; astute; gleaming; roared; inseparable.

11: Dazed suggests confusion or reduced clarity; transfixed suggests being so absorbed, shocked or frightened that one seems unable to move or look away.

12: An incident is an event; a coincidence is a notable correspondence between events without an obvious planned connection.

13: Active concerns energy or participation; astute concerns sharp judgement.

14: A person is reprimanded after wrongdoing; something is forbidden when it is not allowed.

15: Gleaming concerns reflected light; stylish concerns fashionable or attractive design.

16: adverb. 17: occurred. 18: license. 19: answers vary. 20: forlorn.

21–25: answers vary, but each sentence should demonstrate the exact meaning and normal grammar of the target word.

How to Mark for Learning

Do not stop at right or wrong. For every error, ask the learner to explain why the chosen word failed, retrieve the correct word from a meaning clue, and then use both words correctly in separate contexts. This turns correction into semantic comparison.

Related resources: Vocabulary for Primary 6: semantic groups and retrieval and passage-specific 2019 glossary.

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