What makes a seventh grade analogy harder than a fifth grade one?

The relationships. A fifth grade set leans on synonyms, antonyms, and parts of a whole. Seventh grade adds degree, material, symbol, and cause, which a student cannot answer by feel.

How should a student approach an analogy they do not know?

Build the sentence from the first pair, then try each option in it. Even with one unfamiliar word, the relationship sentence usually rules out two choices.

Do analogies still appear on tests?

Not as their own section on most state tests anymore, but the reasoning shows up throughout vocabulary and reading questions, and the practice builds word knowledge either way.

7th grade analogies

7th grade analogies worksheets

An analogy states a relationship and asks you to repeat it: hammer is to carpenter as scalpel is to surgeon. Seventh grade adds the relationships that need a second look, including degree, worker to tool, source to product, and cause to effect.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.7.5.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.

Lens is to focus as lever is to . balance · lift · weight
Answer: lift
Illegible is to unreadable as inevitable is to . unavoidable · unexpected · unpleasant
Chef is to knife as gardener is to . harvest · orchard · trowel

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 7th grade sheet

7th grade sheets draw from 74 sentences, 10 to a page. None of these sentences are on 6th grade sheets.

Some of the answers:

scalpelbreadsilkbrassmetaldecaydistanceoutdatedfrankjustice

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

Make your student say the relationship out loud in a full sentence before looking at the choices. A hammer is the tool a carpenter works with. Once the sentence exists, the right answer usually announces itself, and the wrong ones fail the sentence rather than the vocabulary. Students who skip this step end up matching by topic, which is exactly what the foils are built to punish. Degree analogies are the ones worth extra practice, since warm is to scalding is a question about intensity and not about temperature.

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 7th grade analogies

What makes a seventh grade analogy harder than a fifth grade one?: The relationships. A fifth grade set leans on synonyms, antonyms, and parts of a whole. Seventh grade adds degree, material, symbol, and cause, which a student cannot answer by feel.
How should a student approach an analogy they do not know?: Build the sentence from the first pair, then try each option in it. Even with one unfamiliar word, the relationship sentence usually rules out two choices.
Do analogies still appear on tests?: Not as their own section on most state tests anymore, but the reasoning shows up throughout vocabulary and reading questions, and the practice builds word knowledge either way.

Related worksheets

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Aligned to Common Core L.7.5.b. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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