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.

6th grade analogies

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.

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

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.

Suggest is to insist as request is to . propose · demand · refuse
Answer: demand
He is to him as they is to . them · they’re · their
Good is to excellent as bad is to . terrible · naughty · unlucky

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 6th grade sheet

6th grade sheets draw from 60 sentences, 10 to a page. None of these sentences are on 5th grade sheets.

Some of the answers:

newsheltercautiouscontractstrengthfascinatedfrigidpowermicewritten

Choose the word. 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. 10 questions per page.

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 6th grade 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.

Related worksheets

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Aligned to Common Core L.6.5.b. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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