ABC Order, Alphabetical Order Worksheets, Task Cards, Dictionary ... - Free Printable

Let’s go through each problem one by one. We’re looking for the word that would appear between the two guide words — meaning it comes alphabetically after the first guide word and before the second.

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1. artist – ascendant
Options: aspect, artisan, artsy
- “artist” → then we need something after “artist” but before “ascendant”
Wait — actually, “ascendant” starts with “asce”, which comes *after* “arti”? No! Let’s check alphabetical order carefully.

Actually, let’s compare letter by letter:

“artist” vs “ascendant” → both start with “a”, then “r” vs “s” → “r” comes before “s”, so “artist” comes BEFORE “ascendant”. So we want a word between them.

But wait — “artisan” starts with “artis...” — same as “artist”, then “a” vs “t”? Actually:

“artist” = a-r-t-i-s-t
“artisan” = a-r-t-i-s-a-n → so up to “artis”, then “t” vs “a” → “a” comes before “t”, so “artisan” comes BEFORE “artist”? That can’t be right.

Let me write them in order:

Compare:
- artist
- artisan
- ascendant

Alphabetically:

First, all start with “a”.

Second letter: r (for artist/artisan) vs s (for ascendant) → so “ascendant” is last.

Now between “artist” and “artisan”:

Compare letter by letter:

a-r-t-i-s-t
a-r-t-i-s-a-n

Up to 5 letters: “artis” — same.

6th letter: “t” (in artist) vs “a” (in artisan) → “a” comes before “t”, so “artisan” comes BEFORE “artist”.

So order is: artisan, artist, ascendant? But that doesn’t make sense because “artist” should come before “ascendant”.

Wait — I think I made a mistake.

Let’s list them properly:

Words: artist, ascendant, artisan

Sort them:

Start with “a”

Then second letter:

- artist → r
- ascendant → s
- artisan → r

So “ascendant” is last (because s > r)

Now between “artist” and “artisan”:

Both have “a-r-t-i-s”

Then next letter:

artist → t (6th letter)
artisan → a (6th letter)

“a” comes before “t”, so “artisan” < “artist”

So full order: artisan, artist, ascendant

But our guide words are “artist - ascendant”, so we want words between them → only “artsy” might fit? Wait, “artsy” wasn’t even in this set? Wait no — options are aspect, artisan, artsy.

I think I confused myself.

Let me restart with correct comparison.

Guide words: artist and ascendant

We need to find which of these falls between them alphabetically:

aspect, artisan, artsy

Let’s sort all four:

List: artist, ascendant, aspect, artisan, artsy

Sort alphabetically:

Start with “a”

Then second letter:

- ascendant → s
- aspect → s
- artist → r
- artisan → r
- artsy → r

So group by second letter:

Group R: artist, artisan, artsy
Group S: ascendant, aspect

Within Group R:

Compare third letter: all “t”

Fourth letter: all “i”

Fifth letter: all “s”

Sixth letter:

- artist → t
- artisan → a
- artsy → y

So order within R: artisan (a), artist (t), artsy (y)

Within Group S:

ascendant vs aspect

Third letter: c vs p → c comes before p → so ascendant, then aspect

Full sorted list:

artisan, artist, artsy, ascendant, aspect

Wait — that can’t be right because “artsy” ends with “y”, which is after “t”, but “ascendant” starts with “asce”, which should come after “arts”?

No — “artsy” is a-r-t-s-y
“ascendant” is a-s-c-e...

Compare second letter: “r” vs “s” → “r” comes before “s”, so all “art...” words come before “asc...”

So correct order:

artisan (a-r-t-i-s-a)
artist (a-r-t-i-s-t)
artsy (a-r-t-s-y) ← wait, here’s the issue!

“artsy” is spelled a-r-t-s-y — so fifth letter is “s”, while “artist” is a-r-t-i-s-t — fifth letter is “s” too? Let's break it down:

“artist”: positions:
1:a, 2:r, 3:t, 4:i, 5:s, 6:t

“artsy”:
1:a, 2:r, 3:t, 4:s, 5:y

Ah! Here’s the key difference.

At position 4: “artist” has “i”, “artsy” has “s”

“i” comes before “s”, so “artist” comes before “artsy”

Similarly, “artisan”:
1:a, 2:r, 3:t, 4:i, 5:s, 6:a, 7:n

Compare “artist” and “artisan”:

Positions 1-5: same (a,r,t,i,s)

Position 6: “t” (artist) vs “a” (artisan) → “a” < “t”, so “artisan” < “artist”

So order of the three options:

artisan, artist, artsy

Now where do they fall relative to guide words “artist” and “ascendant”?

“ascendant” starts with “a-s-c...” — since “s” > “r”, “ascendant” comes after all “art...” words.

So between “artist” and “ascendant”, we have “artsy” — because “artsy” comes after “artist” (since at position 4: “s” > “i”) and before “ascendant” (since “r” < “s”).

“artisan” comes before “artist”, so not between.

“aspect” starts with “a-s-p...” — which is after “ascendant”? Let’s see: “ascendant” vs “aspect” — both “as”, then “c” vs “p” → “c” < “p”, so “ascendant” < “aspect”

So “aspect” is after “ascendant”, not between.

Therefore, for #1, the word between “artist” and “ascendant” is artsy

But let’s double-check with dictionary order.

In a real dictionary:

After “artist” comes words like “artistic”, “artsy”, etc., then later “ascendant” — yes, because “art” comes before “asc” — wait no! “art” vs “asc” — “a” same, “r” vs “s” — “r” comes before “s”, so “art...” words come before “asc...” words.

That means “artist” and “artsy” both come BEFORE “ascendant”.

So if guide words are “artist - ascendant”, and “artist” is first, “ascendant” is second, then any word between them must be greater than “artist” and less than “ascendant”.

But since “art...” < “asc...”, there are no words between them that start with “art” — because all “art” words are less than “asc” words.

This suggests I have the guide words backwards? Or perhaps the problem assumes the first guide word is the left page, second is right page, so we want words that fall on that page, i.e., >= first and <= second.

In dictionary guide words, the first word is the first word on the page, the second is the last word on the page. So we want words that are >= first guide word and <= second guide word.

For #1: guide words "artist" and "ascendant"

But "artist" > "ascendant" alphabetically? Let's confirm:

Compare "artist" and "ascendant":

First letter: a = a

Second letter: r vs s → r < s, so "artist" < "ascendant"

Yes! I had it wrong earlier.

"r" comes before "s", so "artist" comes before "ascendant".

So "artist" < "ascendant"

Therefore, we want words W such that "artist" ≤ W ≤ "ascendant"

Now look at options: aspect, artisan, artsy

"artisan": compare to "artist"

As above, "artisan" < "artist" because at sixth letter, "a" < "t"

So "artisan" < "artist" → not in range

"artsy": compare to "artist"

"artist": a-r-t-i-s-t

"artsy": a-r-t-s-y

Position 4: "i" vs "s" → "i" < "s", so "artist" < "artsy"

Now compare "artsy" to "ascendant"

"artsy": a-r-t-s-y

"ascendant": a-s-c-e...

Position 2: "r" vs "s" → "r" < "s", so "artsy" < "ascendant"

Therefore, "artist" < "artsy" < "ascendant" → so "artsy" is between them.

"aspect": a-s-p-e-c-t

Compare to "ascendant": a-s-c vs a-s-p → "c" < "p", so "ascendant" < "aspect"

So "aspect" > "ascendant" → not in range.

Thus, for #1, answer is artsy

Okay, now I'm confident.

Let's do the rest quickly.

2. bushel – busywork

Options: bustle, bypass, bush

"bushel" to "busywork"

"bush" : b-u-s-h

"bushel": b-u-s-h-e-l → so "bush" < "bushel" (since shorter and prefix)

"bustle": b-u-s-t-l-e

Compare to "bushel": position 4: "h" vs "t" → "h" < "t", so "bushel" < "bustle"

"busywork": b-u-s-y-w-o-r-k

"bustle" vs "busywork": position 4: "t" vs "y" → "t" < "y", so "bustle" < "busywork"

So "bushel" < "bustle" < "busywork" → bustle is between.

"bypass": b-y-p-a-s-s → position 2: "u" vs "y" → "u" < "y", but "bypass" starts with "by", while others are "bu", so "bypass" > "busywork"? Let's see:

"busywork": b-u-s-y...

"bypass": b-y-p...

Position 2: "u" vs "y" → "u" < "y", so "busywork" < "bypass"

So "bypass" is after "busywork", not between.

"bush" is before "bushel".

So answer: bustle

3. catfight – cattail

Options: cater, cathedral, catty

"catfight" and "cattail" — both start with "catf" and "catT"?

"catfight": c-a-t-f-i-g-h-t

"cattail": c-a-t-t-a-i-l

Position 4: "f" vs "t" → "f" < "t", so "catfight" < "cattail"

Now options:

"cater": c-a-t-e-r → position 4: "e" vs "f" (in catfight) → "e" < "f", so "cater" < "catfight" → not in range

"cathedral": c-a-t-h-e-d-r-a-l → position 4: "h" vs "f" → "h" > "f", so "catfight" < "cathedral"

Compare to "cattail": position 4: "h" vs "t" → "h" < "t", so "cathedral" < "cattail"

So "catfight" < "cathedral" < "cattail" → cathedral is between.

"catty": c-a-t-t-y → position 4: "t" same as cattail, then position 5: "y" vs "a" → "y" > "a", so "catty" > "cattail" → not in range.

Answer: cathedral

4. droll – drown

Options: droopy, drink, drowsy

"droll": d-r-o-l-l

"drown": d-r-o-w-n

Position 4: "l" vs "w" → "l" < "w", so "droll" < "drown"

"droopy": d-r-o-o-p-y → position 4: "o" vs "l" → "o" > "l", so "droll" < "droopy"

Compare to "drown": position 4: "o" vs "w" → "o" < "w", so "droopy" < "drown"

So "droll" < "droopy" < "drown" → droopy is between.

"drink": d-r-i-n-k → position 3: "o" vs "i" → "i" < "o", so "drink" < "droll" → not in range

"drowsy": d-r-o-w-s-y → position 4: "w" same as drown, position 5: "s" vs "n" → "s" > "n", so "drowsy" > "drown" → not in range.

Answer: droopy

5. editor – effect

Options: edit, effort, educate

"editor": e-d-i-t-o-r

"effect": e-f-f-e-c-t

Position 2: "d" vs "f" → "d" < "f", so "editor" < "effect"

"edit": e-d-i-t → compare to "editor": same up to "edit", then "or" vs nothing → "edit" < "editor" → not in range

"effort": e-f-f-o-r-t → compare to "effect": e-f-f same, then "o" vs "e" → "o" > "e", so "effort" > "effect" → not in range

"educate": e-d-u-c-a-t-e → position 3: "i" vs "u" → "i" < "u", so "editor" < "educate"?

"editor": e-d-i-t...

"educate": e-d-u-c...

Position 3: "i" vs "u" → "i" < "u", so "editor" < "educate"

Now compare "educate" to "effect": position 2: "d" vs "f" → "d" < "f", so "educate" < "effect"

So "editor" < "educate" < "effect" → educate is between.

Answer: educate

6. finding – finish

Options: firm, finger, film

"finding": f-i-n-d-i-n-g

"finish": f-i-n-i-s-h

Position 4: "d" vs "i" → "d" < "i", so "finding" < "finish"

"firm": f-i-r-m → position 3: "n" vs "r" → "n" < "r", so "finding" < "firm"?

"finding": f-i-n...

"firm": f-i-r...

Position 3: "n" vs "r" → "n" < "r", so "finding" < "firm"

Compare "firm" to "finish": position 3: "n" vs "r" → "n" < "r", so "firm" < "finish"? No:

"finish": f-i-n-i-s-h

"firm": f-i-r-m

Position 3: "n" vs "r" → "n" < "r", so "finish" < "firm"? Let's see:

At position 3, "finish" has "n", "firm" has "r" → "n" < "r", so "finish" < "firm"

But our guide words are "finding" and "finish", with "finding" < "finish"

So we want words between them.

"finger": f-i-n-g-e-r

Compare to "finding": f-i-n-d... vs f-i-n-g... → position 4: "d" vs "g" → "d" < "g", so "finding" < "finger"

Compare to "finish": f-i-n-g... vs f-i-n-i... → position 4: "g" vs "i" → "g" < "i", so "finger" < "finish"

So "finding" < "finger" < "finish" → finger is between.

"film": f-i-l-m → position 3: "n" vs "l" → "l" < "n", so "film" < "finding" → not in range

"firm": as above, "firm" > "finish" → not in range.

Answer: finger

7. gravy – great

Options: greater, grave, greasy

"gravy": g-r-a-v-y

"great": g-r-e-a-t

Position 3: "a" vs "e" → "a" < "e", so "gravy" < "great"

"greater": g-r-e-a-t-e-r → compare to "great": same up to "great", then "er" → so "great" < "greater" → not in range (since we need <= "great")

"grave": g-r-a-v-e → compare to "gravy": g-r-a-v same, then "e" vs "y" → "e" < "y", so "grave" < "gravy" → not in range

"greasy": g-r-e-a-s-y → compare to "gravy": position 3: "a" vs "e" → "a" < "e", so "gravy" < "greasy"

Compare to "great": g-r-e-a-s-y vs g-r-e-a-t → position 5: "s" vs "t" → "s" < "t", so "greasy" < "great"

So "gravy" < "greasy" < "great" → greasy is between.

Answer: greasy

8. heartache – heater

Options: hay, hearty, headrest

"heartache": h-e-a-r-t-a-c-h-e

"heater": h-e-a-t-e-r

Position 4: "r" vs "t" → "r" < "t", so "heartache" < "heater"

"hay": h-a-y → position 2: "e" vs "a" → "a" < "e", so "hay" < "heartache" → not in range

"hearty": h-e-a-r-t-y → compare to "heartache": h-e-a-r-t same, then "y" vs "a" → "y" > "a", so "heartache" < "hearty"

Compare to "heater": h-e-a-r-t-y vs h-e-a-t-e-r → position 4: "r" vs "t" → "r" < "t", so "hearty" < "heater"

So "heartache" < "hearty" < "heater" → hearty is between.

"headrest": h-e-a-d-r-e-s-t → position 4: "d" vs "r" → "d" < "r", so "headrest" < "heartache" → not in range.

Answer: hearty

9. ice – idea

Options: icebox, ibis, idiom

"ice": i-c-e

"idea": i-d-e-a

Position 2: "c" vs "d" → "c" < "d", so "ice" < "idea"

"icebox": i-c-e-b-o-x → compare to "ice": same up to "ice", then "box" → so "ice" < "icebox"

Compare to "idea": i-c-e... vs i-d-e... → position 2: "c" vs "d" → "c" < "d", so "icebox" < "idea"

So "ice" < "icebox" < "idea" → icebox is between.

"ibis": i-b-i-s → position 2: "c" vs "b" → "b" < "c", so "ibis" < "ice" → not in range

"idiom": i-d-i-o-m → position 2: "d" same as idea, but "idiom" vs "idea": position 3: "i" vs "e" → "i" > "e", so "idea" < "idiom" → not in range.

Answer: icebox

10. jack – jade

Options: jaguar, jabber, jacket

"jack": j-a-c-k

"jade": j-a-d-e

Position 3: "c" vs "d" → "c" < "d", so "jack" < "jade"

"jaguar": j-a-g-u-a-r → position 3: "g" vs "c" → "g" > "c", so "jack" < "jaguar"

Compare to "jade": j-a-g... vs j-a-d... → position 3: "g" vs "d" → "g" > "d", so "jaguar" > "jade" → not in range

"jabber": j-a-b-b-e-r → position 3: "b" vs "c" → "b" < "c", so "jabber" < "jack" → not in range

"jacket": j-a-c-k-e-t → compare to "jack": same up to "jack", then "et" → so "jack" < "jacket"

Compare to "jade": j-a-c-k... vs j-a-d-e... → position 3: "c" vs "d" → "c" < "d", so "jacket" < "jade"

So "jack" < "jacket" < "jade" → jacket is between.

Answer: jacket

11. lawyer – lazy

Options: layup, lazybones, lawn

"lawyer": l-a-w-y-e-r

"lazy": l-a-z-y

Position 3: "w" vs "z" → "w" < "z", so "lawyer" < "lazy"

"layup": l-a-y-u-p → position 3: "w" vs "y" → "w" < "y", so "lawyer" < "layup"

Compare to "lazy": l-a-y... vs l-a-z... → position 3: "y" vs "z" → "y" < "z", so "layup" < "lazy"

So "lawyer" < "layup" < "lazy" → layup is between.

"lazybones": l-a-z-y-b-o-n-e-s → compare to "lazy": same up to "lazy", then "bones" → so "lazy" < "lazybones" → not in range

"lawn": l-a-w-n → compare to "lawyer": l-a-w same, then "n" vs "y" → "n" < "y", so "lawn" < "lawyer" → not in range.

Answer: layup

12. kindling – kinship

Options: kitchen, kingdom, kilogram

"kindling": k-i-n-d-l-i-n-g

"kinship": k-i-n-s-h-i-p

Position 4: "d" vs "s" → "d" < "s", so "kindling" < "kinship"

"kitchen": k-i-t-c-h-e-n → position 3: "n" vs "t" → "n" < "t", so "kitchen" < "kindling"?

"kindling": k-i-n...

"kitchen": k-i-t...

Position 3: "n" vs "t" → "n" < "t", so "kindling" < "kitchen"? No:

"k-i-n" vs "k-i-t" → "n" < "t", so "kindling" < "kitchen"

But we need words between "kindling" and "kinship"

"kingdom": k-i-n-g-d-o-m → compare to "kindling": k-i-n same, then "g" vs "d" → "g" > "d", so "kindling" < "kingdom"

Compare to "kinship": k-i-n-g... vs k-i-n-s... → position 4: "g" vs "s" → "g" < "s", so "kingdom" < "kinship"

So "kindling" < "kingdom" < "kinship" → kingdom is between.

"kilogram": k-i-l-o-g-r-a-m → position 3: "n" vs "l" → "l" < "n", so "kilogram" < "kindling" → not in range

"kitchen": as above, "kitchen" > "kinship"? Let's see:

"kitchen": k-i-t...

"kinship": k-i-n... → position 3: "t" vs "n" → "t" > "n", so "kinship" < "kitchen" → not in range.

Answer: kingdom

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Final Answers:

1. artsy
2. bustle
3. cathedral
4. droopy
5. educate
6. finger
7. greasy
8. hearty
9. icebox
10. jacket
11. layup
12. kingdom