Free English vocabulary lesson

Latin roots worksheet: English vocabulary with answers

Practice four Latin-derived word parts in English with a free printable worksheet, separate answer key, 20-minute lesson and eight-question quiz.

20 minutes · 4 word parts · 8 written tasks · 8 online questions

For English vocabulary lessons with middle-school and older learners. No Greek or Latin reading is required. Teachers can read the sentences aloud and adjust support for their class.

Download student worksheet (PDF, 2 pages)

Download separate answer key (PDF, 1 page)

No account is needed. Print on US Letter or fit to A4. Page 1 is the reference; page 2 has writing space without solutions. Share the answer key after learners finish. Free to print and share for learning; keep the Word Radicals credit. This permission does not change linked sources’ terms.

Teach roots and context together

Aim: identify a useful word part, explain the whole word in its sentence, and recognize when a root clue is not enough.

0–4 minutes: read the four word parts and examples. Find each part in a complete word.
4–8 minutes: model the worked example. Name the root clue and the extra information supplied by the sentence.
8–16 minutes: complete the written tasks. Use page 1 for support or cover it for recall.
16–20 minutes: compare explanations, then retry the exit task without the key. Use the optional online check for further practice.

Four Latin word parts in English

Root clues and example words
Word part	Clue	Examples
port-	Carry	portable; transport
scrib- / script-	Write	scribe; manuscript
struct- / stru-	Build	construct
spec- / spect-	Look; watch	inspect; spectator

Worked example

We chose a portable lamp so we could carry it between rooms. Port- gives the carrying clue. Portable describes something that can be carried or moved; it does not name the person doing the carrying. The sentence helps us choose the intended meaning.

Why context matters

A manuscript can be typed. Its history connects to writing by hand, but its current meaning is broader. Inspect and spectator share a looking or watching family, but inspect is an action and spectator names a person. Shared roots do not make complete words interchangeable.

Hyphens mark word parts in the reference. Do not add those hyphens to the complete English words. A shared spelling alone does not establish a shared origin.

Eight written tasks

Use paper or your own notes. Keep the answer key closed until you finish.

Write the carrying root and its meaning.
Write both forms of the writing root in the reference.
Which root family gives a building clue in construct?
Which root family links inspect and spectator?
“The portable lamp moved from room to room.” Explain the root clue and the meaning of portable in this sentence.
“The author emailed a typed manuscript to the editor.” Must this manuscript be handwritten? Explain.
“The class will construct a bridge from card.” What does construct mean here? Which root family helps?
Exit task: compare “Inspect the stage” with “The spectator watched the play.” Explain the shared clue and the different jobs of the complete words.

Open the written answer key

Accept equivalent wording that preserves the meaning. Ask learners to explain corrections rather than copy them.

Port-: carry.
Scrib- and script-: write.
Struct- / stru-: build.
Spec- / spect-: look or watch.
Port- supplies carry. Portable describes a lamp that can be carried or moved. The whole word is an adjective, not the action carry alone.
No. Manuscript can refer to a typed document prepared for publication. The history of a word does not limit every modern use.
It means build. Struct- / stru- supplies the building clue; the sentence tells us what will be built.
Both belong to the looking or watching family. Inspect asks someone to examine closely; spectator names a person watching. A shared root does not make a verb and a noun interchangeable.

Next lesson

Greek roots in English: companion worksheet. Try the other four word parts, then explain one example from each lesson without looking.

Sources and teaching notes

The activities and example sentences are original. Meanings and word histories were checked against Merriam-Webster on October 20, 2026:

The use of both word parts and sentence context follows the approach described in REL Southwest’s grades 6–8 reading intervention guide, Module 3 (PDF, pages 4–5). This worksheet is practice, not a standardized assessment.