6th grade analogies worksheets

Sixth graders finish the set with materials, measures, and grammatical pairs (go is to went), where the relationship can be structural rather than about meaning. The whole skill is naming the relation precisely: "an X is a young Y" beats "they go together".

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.6.5.b.

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The kind of sentences you'll get

Work out how the first pair of words fits together. Then circle the letter of the word that completes the second pair the same way.

  1. Good is to better as bad is to . worse · worst · badder

    Answer: worse

  2. Electron is to atom as planet is to . solar system · galaxy · telescope
  3. Thermostat is to regulate as alarm is to . measure · silence · warn

Every print pulls a fresh set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.

What's on each sheet

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

How to teach this

Have your student sort the sheet's analogies by relation type after solving (synonym, cause, degree, tense). Spotting the type first cuts solving time in half, and inventing two new analogies of the same type is the fastest proof they own it.

Watch for: The answer isn't the word that goes best with the third word alone; it's the word that repeats the FIRST pair's relationship. Puppy and bone go together, but kitten-to-cat isn't about food. Name the relationship out loud before looking at the choices (a baby and its grown-up, a worker and a tool, opposites). If you can't say the relationship, you're guessing.

Common questions about analogies

What is a grammatical analogy?
One where the relationship is about word form, not meaning: run is to ran as eat is to ate. The relation is "present tense to past tense." These reward students for noticing structure, and the wrong choices (ate, eaten, eats) are exactly the forms students mix up in writing.
What comes after these sheets?
Writing analogies, not just solving them. Ask for two original analogies per relation type; inventing a fair one (single right answer, tempting wrong ones) is harder than solving ten, and it's the clearest sign the skill is finished.

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Aligned to Common Core L.6.5.b. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 137, updated August 2026.

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