maddyhelps

ELA 7

English Language Arts 7 · Worksheets

Reading for meaning

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Reading for meaning. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

All worksheets

Reading for meaning

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

Name
Date
Score
/ 10

Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the evidence or reasoning that decided it.

  1. Read: “Unlike his brother, who spent every dollar the moment he got it, Amir was frugal. He had saved his allowance for a whole year to buy his own bike.” In this passage, “frugal” most likely means

    1. a) in a hurry to buy things
    2. b) rich from a large allowance
    3. c) generous with his money
    4. d) careful not to waste money

  2. Read: “‘It's fine. I didn't even want to go,’ Leila said when the concert sold out. Then she went up to her room and took down the band's poster from above her bed.” The best inference is that Leila

    1. a) has never really liked the band much
    2. b) is more disappointed than she admits
    3. c) plans to buy a ticket from a friend
    4. d) wants to put up a new poster instead

  3. Read: “The rescue team had to be resourceful. Their radio was broken and their rope was gone, so they tied their jackets together to lower the first-aid kit down the cliff.” In this passage, “resourceful” most likely means

    1. a) quick to call for help when in trouble
    2. b) good at finding clever ways to solve problems
    3. c) brave enough to climb in dangerous places
    4. d) carrying plenty of supplies and useful equipment

  4. Read: “Mom set two sleeping bags, a flashlight and a bag of marshmallows by the back door. Then she checked the weekend weather forecast for Sylvan Lake.” What is the family most likely getting ready to do?

    1. a) go camping at the lake for the weekend
    2. b) wait out a power outage at home
    3. c) move into a new house beside the lake
    4. d) clean out the storage room downstairs

  5. Read: “Three years ago, our class planted twelve trees along the back fence of the schoolyard. This spring, robins nested in four of them. The corner that used to be bare mud is now where half the school eats lunch on warm days.” Which statement best expresses the main idea, which the writer suggests but never states?

    1. a) The corner by the back fence used to be nothing but bare mud.
    2. b) Planting the trees made the schoolyard better for birds and people.
    3. c) Robins prefer to build their nests in young trees near schools.
    4. d) Every school in Alberta should plant twelve trees in its schoolyard.

  6. Read: “Our town library is much more than a place to borrow books. On Tuesdays it runs a free homework club. On weekends, families come in for board games, and on the coldest winter days people drop in just to get warm.” Which detail best supports the idea that the library is more than a place for books?

    1. a) the library's long history in the town
    2. b) the free homework club it runs on Tuesdays
    3. c) how cold the town gets in the winter
    4. d) the books that people can borrow and take home

  7. Read: “Hana's grandmother had lived in the same house for fifty years. On moving day, she walked slowly through every empty room. In the kitchen, she stopped at the pencil marks where her children's heights were written, and she stood there for a long time.” Which detail best shows that leaving is hard for her?

    1. a) Her children's heights were written in pencil.
    2. b) It was moving day, and the rooms were empty.
    3. c) She had lived in the house for fifty years.
    4. d) She stood for a long time at the pencil marks.

  8. Read: “Beavers are sometimes called nature's engineers. A single beaver family can cut down hundreds of trees in a year. Their dams hold back streams and turn dry meadows into ponds, and soon ducks, frogs and moose move in.” Which sentence best states the main idea?

    1. a) Ducks, frogs and moose like to live near ponds.
    2. b) Beavers change the land around them in big ways.
    3. c) A beaver family can cut down hundreds of trees a year.
    4. d) Beavers should be kept away from dry meadows.

  9. Read: “Noah stood at the edge of the deep end for a long time. He looked down at the water, then back toward the shallow end. When the instructor called his name, he took one step backward.” Noah is most likely feeling

    1. a) annoyed at the instructor for calling him
    2. b) afraid of going into the deep water
    3. c) bored of waiting for his turn to swim
    4. d) cold from standing beside the pool

  10. Read: “Coach told us to bank our energy in the first half, because the other team always gets tired near the end.” In this sentence, “bank” most nearly means

    1. a) a place to keep money
    2. b) save for later
    3. c) tilt to one side while turning
    4. d) the ground beside a river

Answer key · Reading for meaning

English Language Arts 7 · maddyhelps.com

  1. d) careful not to waste money — “Unlike his brother” is a contrast clue: the brother spends everything, so Amir does the opposite, and saving for a year confirms it. “Rich” is tempting because he bought a bike, but the passage says he got it by saving, not by having a lot.
  2. b) is more disappointed than she admits — Her words say she does not care, but taking down the poster shows she is hurt. When what a character says and what she does disagree, trust the action; a poster kept above her bed also rules out never having liked the band.
  3. b) good at finding clever ways to solve problems — The word looks as if it means “full of resources,” but the passage says the radio was broken and the rope was gone: they had very little. What they did was invent a fix with their jackets. When the word parts and the context disagree, go with the context.
  4. a) go camping at the lake for the weekend — Each clue alone could mean something else (a flashlight could be for a power outage), but sleeping bags, marshmallows and a weekend forecast for a lake only fit together one way. A good inference uses all the clues, not just one.
  5. b) Planting the trees made the schoolyard better for birds and people. — The nesting robins and the students eating lunch are two results of one change, the trees. The claim about every school goes further than the passage does, and the bare mud is a single detail; a main idea has to cover the whole passage and stay inside it.
  6. b) the free homework club it runs on Tuesdays — The homework club is something the library offers besides books, so it backs up the claim. Borrowing books is the very thing the writer says the library goes beyond, so it cannot prove the library is more than that.
  7. d) She stood for a long time at the pencil marks. — Standing still in front of the marks is something she does, and it shows what she feels. Fifty years makes it likely that leaving is hard, which is why it tempts, but it is a fact about her past, not evidence of what she feels today.
  8. b) Beavers change the land around them in big ways. — The trees, the dams and the new ponds all show beavers reshaping the land, and “engineers” in the first sentence names that idea. The hundreds of trees is true, but it is one detail that supports the point, not the point itself.
  9. b) afraid of going into the deep water — Looking back toward the shallow end and stepping away when he is called show he wants to get away from the deep water, not into it. Nothing in the passage mentions shivering, so “cold” is a guess about pools in general rather than something this passage shows.
  10. b) save for later — Here “bank” is something the players are told to do with their energy, and the rest of the sentence explains when they will need it. “A place to keep money” is the meaning most people know first, but it names a thing, not an action, so it does not fit this sentence.