Suffix Meaning Master

This worksheet helps students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 build strong vocabulary and word-analysis skills by focusing on the meanings of common derivational suffixes. Students read each definition and select the suffix that best matches the meaning, reinforcing semantic understanding, part-of-speech recognition, and decoding strategies for unfamiliar words.

Learning Goals

• Suffix Meaning & Function (Grades 3-5) – Identify how derivational suffixes such as -ful, -less, -ness, -er, and -able contribute meaning to words.
• Word Analysis Skills – Understand how suffixes change meaning and often signal a word’s part of speech.
• Vocabulary Development – Strengthen ability to interpret and build new words using suffix meaning clues.
• Reading Comprehension Support – Apply suffix knowledge to decode and understand unfamiliar vocabulary in context.

Instructional Support

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to support explicit morphology and vocabulary instruction.
• Meaning-Based Approach – Emphasizes understanding suffix meaning before applying it to words.
• Flexible Use – Works well for literacy centers, small groups, independent practice, homework, or intervention.
• Supports Differentiation – Appropriate for on-level learners, review, and vocabulary enrichment.
• No-Prep Format – Print-and-go design for easy classroom or homeschool use.

This printable worksheet helps students see how suffixes shape word meaning, grammatical function, and comprehension. By connecting definitions directly to derivational endings, learners develop stronger decoding strategies, vocabulary awareness, and confidence with academic language. Whether used in a classroom or homeschool setting, this resource supports lasting growth in word analysis, reading comprehension, and language precision.

This worksheet is part of our Suffixes Worksheets collection.