A phrase whose meaning differs from its literal words: hit the hay means go to bed. English is packed with them, and they must be learned as whole phrases.

How do kids figure out an unfamiliar idiom?

The same way these sheets work: from context. The sentence around the idiom almost always points at the real meaning.

3rd grade idioms

3rd grade idioms worksheets

Third graders complete sentences with the idiom the context demands, meeting the common ones: piece of cake, raining cats and dogs, under the weather.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.4.5.b.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Choose the idiom that fits the sentence, and write it on the line.

When the cat knocked over the lamp, she let (sleeping dogs lie / the cat out of the bag / the dog off the leash) about who broke the first one too.
Fixed: When the cat knocked over the lamp, she let the cat out of the bag about who broke the first one too.
Asking for a bigger allowance right after breaking the window took (some elbow grease / some nerve / some shut-eye).
The rookie goalie saved the day (at the eleventh hour / in the same boat / once in a blue moon).

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 3rd grade sheet

3rd grade sheets draw from 40 sentences, 8 to a page. 3rd to 6th grade print from the same 40 sentences. The teaching notes below are written for this grade.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

Choosing between the two pies, I’m truly in a pickle.
The invitation arrived out of the blue, months after we’d met.
She passed the tryout by the skin of her teeth.

Fix it. Choose the idiom that fits the sentence, and write it on the line. 8 sentences to fix per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Translate each completed sentence into plain words: the quiz was a piece of cake means the quiz was easy. The translation step is the comprehension check that matters.

Watch for: Idioms cannot be figured out letter by letter; they are learned as whole phrases, like vocabulary with a wink. The context sentence always carries the real meaning. Kids learning English deserve extra patience here: idioms are the least fair part of the language, and collecting them is the only route.

Common questions about 3rd grade idioms

What is an idiom?: A phrase whose meaning differs from its literal words: hit the hay means go to bed. English is packed with them, and they must be learned as whole phrases.
How do kids figure out an unfamiliar idiom?: The same way these sheets work: from context. The sentence around the idiom almost always points at the real meaning.

Related worksheets

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Aligned to Common Core L.4.5.b. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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