The Practice Library · Vocabulary and word study
Suffix Worksheets
A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word, and it changes the word's job or its meaning: hope becomes hopeful, act becomes action. These pages take the suffixes one ending at a time, for Grades 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Each set works on one ending, or on a pair that sound alike. The first three pages of every set are free PDFs, open to everyone. The rest of each set, and an answer key for every page, are included with All Access.
2nd Grade suffix worksheets
- Suffixes -ful, -less, -ness, -ment, -y, -ly Free PDF A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word. -ful means full of (hopeful, thankful), -less means without (hopeless, careless), -ness names a quality (kindness, sadness), -ly tells how (quickly, suddenly), and -ment and -y build naming and describing words the same way (payment).
3rd Grade suffix worksheets
- Suffix -al Free PDF The ending -al turns a naming word into a describing word meaning 'having to do with': nation becomes national, music becomes musical, coast becomes coastal, person becomes personal.
- The -ance and -ence Suffixes Free PDF The suffixes -ance and -ence turn a describing or action word into a naming word for a state or quality: important becomes importance, silent becomes silence, different becomes difference, patient becomes patience.
- The -ate Suffix Free PDF The suffix -ate makes a verb meaning to make or to do: to create is to make something new, to celebrate is to do something special for a happy day, to operate is to make a machine work, and to separate is to make things stand apart.
- Suffix -est Free PDF The ending -est compares three or more things and marks the far end of the group: tall, taller, tallest; fast, fastest; big, biggest.
- The -ify Suffix Free PDF The suffix -ify makes a verb meaning to make: to simplify is to make simple, to notify is to make known, to identify is to make clear who or what something is, and to justify is to show that something is right.
- Suffix -ity Free PDF The suffix -ity makes a naming word out of a describing word, naming the quality itself: pure becomes purity, active becomes activity, real becomes reality, able becomes ability. In Grade 3 -ity is sorted against -al: humanity, flexibility and capability on one side, medical, personal and original on the other.
- The -ize Suffix Free PDF The suffix -ize makes a verb meaning to make or to do: to memorize is to put into memory, to organize is to put in order, to realize is to see that something is real or true, and to authorize is to give the right to act.
- Suffix -ous Free PDF The ending -ous means 'full of' and makes a describing word: joy becomes joyous, danger becomes dangerous, fame becomes famous, nerve becomes nervous.
- Suffixes That Change Word Jobs Free PDF A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word that changes its job or meaning: -ful makes an adjective (hopeful), -ly makes an adverb (quickly), -er can name a person (teacher).
- Suffix -sure Free PDF The ending -sure is read as one chunk rather than sounded out letter by letter.
- Suffixes -tion and -sion Free PDF The endings -tion and -sion both say /shun/ and make a naming word out of an action word: act becomes action, confess becomes confession, express becomes expression.
- Suffix -ture Free PDF The ending -ture says /cher/: picture, nature, future, capture, adventure.
4th Grade suffix worksheets
- Suffix -cian Free PDF The ending -cian says /shun/ and names a person who does something: a musician makes music, an electrician works with electricity, a physician practices medicine, a magician does magic.
- Suffixes -cious and -tious Free PDF The endings -cious and -tious both say /shus/ and make describing words: precious, gracious, spacious, cautious, ambitious, nutritious.
5th Grade suffix worksheets
- Adding the Suffix -able Free PDF The suffix -able means able to be done: readable, breakable, enjoyable, comfortable.
- Adding the Suffix -ion (Making Nouns) Free PDF The suffix -ion turns an action word into a naming word: act becomes action, collect becomes collection, decide becomes decision.
- Adding the Suffix -ous Free PDF This is the spelling side of the -ous ending: what happens to the base word at the join.
- Suffix -ation Free PDF The ending -ation makes a naming word for an act or its result: inform becomes information, explore becomes exploration, celebrate becomes celebration.
- Suffixes -ence and -ance Free PDF The endings -ence and -ance both make naming words: difference, patience, silence, importance, appearance, assistance.
- Suffixes -ent and -ant Free PDF The endings -ent and -ant are the describing-word partners of -ence and -ance: different and difference, important and importance, assistant and assistance, patient and patience.
- Suffix -ible Free PDF The suffix -ible means the same as -able, but it attaches to a part that is not a word on its own: visible, terrible, possible, edible, horrible.
- Suffix -ic Free PDF The suffix -ic makes a describing word meaning 'having to do with': hero becomes heroic, history becomes historic, athlete becomes athletic, magnet becomes magnetic.
- Suffix -ity Free PDF The suffix -ity makes a naming word out of a describing word, naming the quality itself: pure becomes purity, active becomes activity, real becomes reality, able becomes ability. In Grade 5 -ity is sorted against -ic: quality, density, creativity and dignity beside strategic and dynamic, with two pages that build the words from their parts.
- Suffixes -ory and -ary Free PDF The endings -ory and -ary sound nearly alike at the end of a long word: history, memory, factory, victory against library, ordinary, necessary, dictionary.
- Suffix -ure Free PDF The suffix -ure makes a naming word out of an action word: fail becomes failure, depart becomes departure, mix becomes mixture, press becomes pressure.
How to use these pages
- Start with the endings a child already says: -ful, -less, -ness and -ly. The Grade 2 set holds them together.
- Ask what the ending did. Nation is a thing; national describes one. Naming that change is the skill, more than the spelling.
- Pair the endings that sound alike only when each is steady alone: -tion and -sion, -able and -ible, -ence and -ance.
Practice pages support a program; they are not the lesson. These sheets reinforce Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency, the complete K–5 reading curriculum from Faith Readers. See every program →