Printable grammar worksheet helping students practice identifying and using adjectives in sentences.

Let’s go step by step to fill in each blank with the best adjective from the word bank.

We are given this list of words:
eager, quiet, scrawny, phone, jump, low, horse, castle, famous, clever, play, handsome, odd, driver, shallow, ocean, rich, long, gentle, thankful

Note: Some words like “phone”, “jump”, “horse”, “castle”, “play”, “driver”, “ocean” are nouns or verbs — but we need adjectives (words that describe things). So we’ll ignore those unless they can be used as adjectives in context. But looking at the sentences, we should pick only words that fit grammatically and make sense.

Let’s solve each sentence:

1. The bird with short wings is ________ looking
→ We’re describing how the bird looks. “Scrawny” means thin and weak — fits a bird with short wings? Maybe. Also “odd” could work, but “scrawny” is more descriptive for appearance. Let’s tentatively pick scrawny.

2. Bob is ________ to get his new puppy
→ This describes Bob’s feeling. “Eager” means excited and ready — perfect! → eager

3. The ________ actor is in a new movie
→ Describing an actor. “Famous” makes sense — actors in new movies are often famous. → famous

4. A person has to be ________ to solve puzzles
→ Solving puzzles needs intelligence. “Clever” = smart → clever

5. Some fish prefer to swim in ________ waters
→ Fish might like shallow water (not deep). “Shallow” is an adjective → shallow

6. The tall man hit his head on the ________ branches
→ If he’s tall, he probably hit low-hanging branches. “Low” works here → low

7. I like to have ________ time to read books
→ You want enough time — “long” time makes sense → long

8. My grandmother says I am a ________ boy
→ Grandmothers often say nice things. “Gentle” or “handsome” or “thankful”? “Gentle” is kind and calm — good choice. Or “thankful”? But “gentle” fits better as a trait she’d praise. Let’s go with gentle.

Wait — let’s check if “thankful” fits elsewhere. Sentence 9: “My brother was ________ that he got a new game” → That’s clearly thankful!

So maybe sentence 8 should be “handsome”? Or “quiet”? Let’s hold off and come back.

Actually, let’s do sentence 9 first:

9. My brother was ________ that he got a new game
→ He felt grateful → thankful

Then sentence 8: “My grandmother says I am a ________ boy”
Options left: quiet, handsome, odd, rich, etc. “Handsome” is possible, but grandmas don’t always say that. “Quiet” is also possible. But “gentle” is very common for grandmas to say. Let’s stick with gentle for now.

But wait — we haven’t used “rich” yet.

10. The runt of a litter of puppies is the ________ one
→ Runt = smallest/weakest → “scrawny” again? But we already used “scrawny” in #1? Wait — did we?

Hold on — let’s track which words we’ve used:

Used so far:
- eager (#2)
- famous (#3)
- clever (#4)
- shallow (#5)
- low (#6)
- long (#7)
- thankful (#9)

Left: quiet, scrawny, phone, jump, horse, castle, play, handsome, odd, driver, ocean, rich, gentle

Now sentence 1: “The bird with short wings is ________ looking”
If we use “scrawny” here, then sentence 10: “runt... is the ________ one” — also “scrawny”? Can we reuse? Probably not — usually these worksheets expect unique answers.

Alternative for #1: “odd” looking? Possible. But “scrawny” is better for physical description.

For #10: runt = small/weak → “scrawny” still fits best. Maybe we can use it twice? Unlikely.

Wait — what about “small”? Not in the list. “Odd”? Doesn’t fit well.

Another idea: “scrawny” for #10, and for #1, maybe “odd”? Let’s try:

#1: odd looking → possible, but not great.

Perhaps “scrawny” for #10, and for #1, we use something else? What about “quiet”? No, doesn’t describe looks.

Actually, let’s look at sentence 12: “We were tired after the ________ soccer game”

What kind of soccer game makes you tired? A “long” one? But we used “long” in #7.

Or “hard”? Not in list. “Play”? Not adjective. “Jump”? No.

Wait — “play” is a verb/noun. Not helpful.

Another thought: “rich” — where can that go?

Sentence 11: “The man who lives in the mansion is ________” → Mansions are expensive → he is rich → yes!

So #11: rich

Now back to #10: runt = scrawny → scrawny

Then #1: bird with short wings — maybe “odd” looking? Or perhaps “quiet”? No.

Wait — what about “handsome”? For a bird? Unusual.

Perhaps “scrawny” is meant for #10, and #1 uses “odd”.

But let’s see sentence 8 again: “My grandmother says I am a ________ boy”

If we use “gentle” there, and “thankful” in #9, that’s fine.

Sentence 12: “tired after the ________ soccer game”

What adjective fits? “Long” would make sense — a long game tires you out. But we used “long” in #7.

Is there another option? “Hard”? Not in list. “Play”? No.

Wait — “play” is in the list, but it’s not an adjective. Unless… no.

Another idea: “jump” — no.

Perhaps “ocean”? No.

Wait — maybe “long” can be used twice? Unlikely.

Let’s reassign.

Maybe #7: “I like to have ________ time to read books” — instead of “long”, could it be “quiet” time? Yes! “Quiet time” is a common phrase.

That frees up “long” for #12: “tired after the long soccer game” — perfect!

So let’s adjust:

#7: quiet time → makes sense

#12: long soccer game → makes sense

Now #1: bird with short wings — still need an adjective. Options left: handsome, odd, gentle (but gentle might be for #8), scrawny (for #10), etc.

What about “odd” looking? It’s acceptable.

Or “scrawny” for #1, and for #10, what else? “Small” not available. “Weak”? Not in list.

“Scrawny” really fits #10 best.

Perhaps #1: “the bird is odd looking” — okay.

But let’s check all sentences again with current assignments:

1. ?
2. eager
3. famous
4. clever
5. shallow
6. low
7. quiet ← changed from long
8. ?
9. thankful
10. scrawny
11. rich
12. long ← changed from ?

Words used: eager, famous, clever, shallow, low, quiet, thankful, scrawny, rich, long

Left: phone, jump, horse, castle, play, handsome, odd, driver, ocean, gentle

Now #1: bird with short wings — let’s use odd → “odd looking” is a bit informal but acceptable.

#8: grandmother says I am a ________ boy → options: handsome, gentle, etc. “Gentle” is nice. “Handsome” is also possible. But “gentle” is more likely from grandma.

Also, “gentle” hasn’t been used yet.

So #8: gentle

Now, is there any other sentence needing a word? All 12 are covered.

Let’s list final choices:

1. odd
2. eager
3. famous
4. clever
5. shallow
6. low
7. quiet
8. gentle
9. thankful
10. scrawny
11. rich
12. long

Check if all are adjectives:
- odd: yes
- eager: yes
- famous: yes
- clever: yes
- shallow: yes
- low: yes (as in low branches)
- quiet: yes
- gentle: yes
- thankful: yes
- scrawny: yes
- rich: yes
- long: yes

All good.

Unused words: phone, jump, horse, castle, play, driver, ocean — these are nouns/verbs, not needed.

Perfect.

Final Answer:
1. odd
2. eager
3. famous
4. clever
5. shallow
6. low
7. quiet
8. gentle
9. thankful
10. scrawny
11. rich
12. long