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WorksheetYear 9Level 2 · Standard

Free Year 9 Greek and Latin Roots: Working Out Unfamiliar Words Worksheet

Students learn common Greek and Latin roots (such as chron, graph, port, dict, spect, rupt, bene and mal) and use them, together with prefixes and suffixes, to work out the meaning of unfamiliar academic words. They match roots to meanings, break words into parts, build new words and use root knowledge with context clues to define words in a short passage.

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Year
Year 9
Subject
English
Topic
Vocabulary
Difficulty
Level 2 · Standard
Estimated time
25 minutes
Curriculum
Australian Curriculum
Questions
18
Answers
Included, with working
Format
PDF (A4), print or complete online

Students will practise

  • identifying common Greek and Latin roots
  • breaking words into prefix, root and suffix
  • inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words from their parts
  • combining root knowledge with context clues

Curriculum: Australian Curriculum. We show specific outcome codes only where they have been verified against the official curriculum document.

What's next?

Completed: Greek and Latin Roots: Working Out Unfamiliar Words

  1. 1Commonly Confused Words: affect or effect, principal or principle
  2. 2Analysing Persuasive Techniques in Advertising
  3. 3Is Social Media Doing More Harm Than Good? — Persuasive Writing
  4. 4Language Features: Imagery, Tone and Mood

How to use this worksheet

  1. Print the PDF or complete it on screen. Write the student's name and date at the top.
  2. Read the instructions for each part together before starting. Encourage working to be shown.
  3. Mark with the answer sheet. Use the model answers and success criteria as a guide rather than a single right answer.
  4. Record the score, celebrate what went well, then follow the "What's next" suggestion.

Common questions

Who is this worksheet for?

Year 9 students (typically ages 14–15) working on vocabulary. It is pitched at level 2 · standard.

Are the answers included?

Yes. The PDF includes a full answer sheet with model answers and success criteria where there is more than one good answer. You can also view the answers online.

How long does it take?

About 25 minutes for 18 questions. Short, regular sessions work best: two or three a week beats one long one.

Do I need to sign up to download?

No. Click Download Free PDF and it opens immediately. It is free for personal, classroom and homeschool use.

What should we do next?

Try Commonly Confused Words: affect or effect, principal or principle.

Preview

Success TutoringWorksheetsYear 9 · English · Vocabulary

Greek and Latin Roots: Working Out Unfamiliar Words

Name

Date

Score /

When you meet an unfamiliar word, look for a root you know, then check your guess against the sentence around it.

Part A: Roots and meanings

A root is the core of a word that carries its main meaning. Many English words are built from Greek and Latin roots.

1.Match each root to its meaning.
  • chron
  • graph
  • port
  • dict
  • spect
  • rupt
  • bene
  • mal
  • carry
  • break
  • good
  • look
  • write
  • time
  • bad
  • say

Part B: Use the root

Use the roots from Part A to choose the meaning of each word in bold.

2.Chronological order means:
  1. Ain order of size
  2. Bin order of time
  3. Cin order of importance
  4. Din alphabetical order
3.A malfunction is:
  1. Aa celebration
  2. Ba failure to work properly
  3. Ca type of machine
  4. Da successful test
4.To interrupt someone is to:
  1. Aagree with them
  2. Bbreak into what they are saying
  3. Ccarry their message
  4. Dwrite down their words
5.A benefactor is a person who:
  1. Adoes good by giving help or money
  2. Bwrites biographies
  3. Cbreaks the rules
  4. Dlooks after the time
6.A retrospective exhibition:
  1. Ashows only new work
  2. Blooks back over an artist's past work
  3. Ctravels from city to city
  4. Dis held outdoors
7.Portable means:
  1. Aable to be carried
  2. Bmade at a port
  3. Cvery expensive
  4. Deasy to break

Part C: Build the word

Complete each word using a root from Part A (or the clue given).

8.A person who writes their own life story writes an auto (answer space) (self + life + write).
9.To say what will happen in advance is to pre (answer space) it.
10.A person who watches a sports match is a (answer space)ator.
11.Goods carried out of a country are ex (answer space)s.
12.Something that breaks out suddenly, like a volcano, is said to e (answer space).
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Preview — the PDF contains the full resource and answer sheet.

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About this resource

Created by
Success Tutoring
Last reviewed
1 October 2026
How it was made
Written by our team

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