Synonyms Teaching Resources

Explore synonyms in your English Language Arts classroom with printable synonyms worksheets, board games, and more to help elementary students build their vocabulary.

These teacher-created resources help students define what a synonym is, find synonym examples, explore the difference between a synonym and an antonym, and learn new descriptive words to improve their writing. Download printable and digital resources for your reading centers and writing centers or to use in whole class or individual activities.

Has it been a while since you were teaching this part of the ELA curriculum? Our teacher team knows what it’s like to suddenly teach a brand-new grade level after years away, so we’ve put together a quick refresher on synonyms! Read on for a guide on what a synonym is, how we use them, and even how to pronounce this tricky word! 

Synonym Definition

Let's get started with a kid-friendly definition: Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meanings. This makes them the opposite of antonyms (an antonym to antonyms, if you will!).

What Is a Synonym?

Let's face it: Your students are going to need more than just a definition to really understand what a synonym is.

These words are used in writing to avoid repeating the same word over and over again, making writing less repetitive and more interesting for the reader. Synonyms can also help us find more colorful ways of expressing things as they allow the writer to use a word that's more to the point.

For example, instead of using the word "happy" multiple times in a story, you could use synonyms like "joyful," "gleeful," or "ecstatic" to add variety and depth to your writing. Not only does this make the text more fun to read, but it also lets the reader know the level of a character's happiness.

How to Teach Synonyms And Why It's Important

Learning what a synonym is can help unlock a new level of descriptive writing for young students as they begin to experiment with word choice and explore shades of meaning.

For example, when students know that synonyms for cold include freezing and chilled, writing a story about their winter break goes from featuring repetitive sentences about being "cold" to a story filled with varied descriptions!

Learning synonyms is also an important feature of social and emotional learning as students learn various words to better express their feelings. Going beyond "sad or mad" to having more descriptive synonyms for their feelings has been shown to help students feel more in control of their emotions.

Types of Synonyms

As students are flexing their writing muscles and adding different and more descriptive words to their paragraphs and essays, they're going to encounter at least three different synonym types:

Absolute synonyms

Do you have students who tend to think in absolute terms with no room for grey areas? These synonyms will fit them well.

These are words that have the exact same meaning as each other, and they can be used interchangeably in any context. Examples include:

• "happy" and "joyful"
• "big" and "large"
• "small" and "tiny"

Near-synonyms

These words aren't quite the same in meaning, so they're not true synonyms. Still, they come in handy for writers as they learn to seek different words to express what they mean in writing. These words have similar meanings but may differ slightly in terms of intensity, connotation, or usage.

Examples of near-synonyms include:

• "pretty" and "beautiful"
• "angry" and "furious"
• "smart" and "intelligent"

Collocative synonyms

These words can be used interchangeably as synonyms but only in certain contexts or with certain words. Some examples of this are:

• "drink" and "beverage"
• "speak" and "talk"
• "run" and "sprint"

Ideas for Teaching Synonyms

Teaching synonyms this school year? The teachers who create the resources on the Teach Starter team have put together some favorite (and preferred!) tips for adding this component of the ELA standards to your lesson planning.

1. Create a classroom word bank on your whiteboard or bulletin board to collect synonyms for common words as a whole class. Allow students to add suggestions throughout the school year.
2. Introduce students to the thesaurus to learn where and how to look for fresh synonyms when writing.
3. Provide students with a list of "ghost" words, and encourage them to use their new thesaurus skills to find replacements. This is a fun Halloween activity for your centers!
4. Play word match synonym games.
5. Provide students with copies of the local or school newspaper, and challenge them to circle as many synonyms as they can find for a list of common words you've listed on your whiteboard such as said, cold, and important.
6. Divide students into small groups or pairs, and challenge your students to come up with a list of as many synonyms as they can think of for a word you have said. You can also use this activity to help students practice using antonyms!