Figurative Language
Commas
Theme (one word)
Context Clues
Inference
100

He smelled so bad even the flies dropped dead when he walked by.

What is hyperbole.

100

At the store I need eggs peppers and tortilla shells. 

What is: At the store I need eggs, peppers, and tortilla shells. 

100

Never give up, Never surrender. 

What is: persevere. 

100

Universal: Jim wanted to ask Janet to the dance, but he felt it a universally acknowledged truth that popular girls like her didn’t go with unpopular guys like him.

What is: something that remains consistent everywhere. 

100

Screech! Karen stomped on the gas pedal the moment the light turned green. She looked over her left shoulder and zigged past a semi-truck. She zoomed ahead and looked over her right shoulder and then zagged past a motorbike. She glanced at the clock on the console of her vehicle and darted into the parking lot.

What is: she is in a hurry

200

She is as lovely as a summer day.

What is simile. 

200

Wait did you just say what I think you just said?

What is: Wait, did you say what I think you just said.

200

We all live and we all die. Without the dead we cannot truly appreciate the living. 

What is death?

200

Vexed: When Jose found out that his little brother Emilio carelessly broke Jose’s Xbox disc tray, Jose was vexed and sure let Emilio know it.

What is: angry, irate 

200

Brenda reached for the box of tissue. She blew her nose with a thunderous force and then tried breathing through it again. It was still clogged. She stood up and got a head rush that almost knocked her back down to the bed, but she regained her balance. As she tottered over to the phone on her dresser, all of her muscles ached. She located the contact labeled "Work" and pressed send. A couple of rings later, a familiar voice answered the phone, "Happy Fun Land, this is Deidra speaking. How can I help you have a happy fun day?" Brenda moaned, "Oh, Deidra, it's Brenda." Deidra responded with pep, "Hey, Brenda! I can't wait to see you this afternoon." Brenda grunted and replied, "Yeah, well, actually, I need to talk to the manager."

What is she is sick

300

The trees waved happily in the wind.

What is personification. 

300

I also love dogs which is something most people don't know about me.

What is: I also love dogs, which is something most people don't know about me.  

300

A monkey put his hand into a jar of cookies.  He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the cookie jar.  Unwilling to lose the cookies, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his disappointment.  

What is Greed.

300

Conjecture: Stanley tried to determine the meaning of the vocabulary word, but there were so few clues in the sentence all he could do was hopelessly conjecture as to what the word might mean.

What is: a guess, something unproven, but thought to be true.

300

Shh!" Dale whispered to his friend Jim. Jim stopped talking mid-sentence and looked at Dale. Dale was dressed in a florescent orange sweater with the hood up and camouflage vest over the sweater. He watched as Dale pointed his rifle at the horizon and squinted one eye, and then Jim followed the barrel of the rifle. A large 10 point buck trotted about thirty meters from the bushes behind which Jim and Dale were positioned.

 

What is he is hunting

400

She has a body like a back road.

What is a simile. 

400

The professor who was very old looked like Gandolf.

The professor, who was very old, looked like Gandolf. 

400

 One winter a Monkey found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold.  He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom.  The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit the monkey, inflicting on him a mortal wound

You can't change your nature. 

400

Ascertain: The clues in the sentence were so helpful, Stanley was able to ascertain the meaning of the word beyond a shadow of a doubt.

What is: to find out with certainty, to discover.

400

Mike got out of the driver seat of the classic car. He looked at the mailbox and then at the bumper.

What is he wrecked his car?

500

The hospital was a refrigerator. 

What is a metaphor.

500

Never in the whole wide world would I have ever imagined I would meet someone like you it's truly amazing. 

What is: Never, in the whole wide world, would I have ever imagined I would meet someone like you, it's truly amazing. 

500

An old monkey on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice.  He ordered them to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son: "Break it."  The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the sticks.  The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful.  "Untie the bundle," said the father, "and each of you take a stick."  When they had done so, he called out to them: "Now, break," and each stick was easily broken.  "You

see my meaning," said their father.

Teamwork

500

Defer: Kyle really wanted to play basketball, but since it overlapped with the volleyball season (and since Carrie played volleyball), he would just have to defer his hoop-dreams until next year, when his relationship with her would be secure.

What is: to put off until later

500

Dale and Kevin were sitting in the living room. Dale had a plate of cookies. Dale went to the bathroom. When he came back the cookies were gone. 

What is Kevin at the cookies?