Circle And Underline Prefixes Worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s go through each part step by step.

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Part A: Circle the word with a prefix.

A prefix is a group of letters added to the *beginning* of a word that changes its meaning. Common prefixes include:
- “dis-” (means not or opposite) → like in “disconnect”
- “ab-” (away from) → like in “abnormal”
- “im-” (not) → like in “improper”
- “care-” isn’t a prefix — but “careless” has “less”, which is a suffix! Wait — we’re looking for prefixes only.
- “inter-” (between) → like in “interact”

Now let’s check each row:

1) sail, proud, disconnect, golden → “dis-” is a prefix → circle disconnect

2) abnormal, market, neatly, burst → “ab-” is a prefix → circle abnormal

3) dentist, kindness, gentle, improper → “im-” is a prefix → circle improper

4) relax, extend, careless, bright → None have prefixes? Wait — “careless” has “less” at the end — that’s a suffix. “Relax”, “extend”, “bright” — no prefixes. Hmm… maybe this one is tricky. But actually — none of these start with a known prefix. Let’s double-check:
→ “re-” is a prefix (again), so “relax” = re + lax → YES! “re-” is a prefix! So circle relax

Wait — hold on! In many elementary worksheets, they focus on clear prefixes like dis-, un-, im-, ab-, inter-. “Re-” is also a common prefix. So yes — “relax” has “re-”.

But let’s look again at option 4:
relax → re + lax → prefix “re-” ✔
extend → ex + tend → “ex-” is also a prefix! Oh no — now two words?
Actually, “ex-” is a prefix too (meaning out). So both “relax” and “extend” have prefixes? That can’t be right for this worksheet — probably they expect only one per row.

Looking back at the pattern — likely they want the most obvious ones. Let’s see what’s expected in typical grade-level work.

Actually, let’s reevaluate based on common school curriculum:

In Part A, Row 4:
“careless” — “less” is a suffix → not prefix
“bright” — no prefix
“relax” — “re-” is a prefix → valid
“extend” — “ex-” is a prefix → also valid

But since only one should be circled per row, and “careless” was listed — wait, maybe I made a mistake earlier.

Hold on — let’s look at Row 4 again:
The words are: relax, extend, careless, bright

If we consider “careless” — it starts with “care”, which is not a prefix. The prefix would have to be at the very beginning.

So “relax” → “re-” = prefix
“extend” → “ex-” = prefix
That’s two. But perhaps the worksheet expects “careless” because sometimes kids confuse suffixes and prefixes? No — the instruction says “prefix”.

Wait — maybe I misread Row 4. Let me check original image description again... Actually, in the user’s image, Row 4 is:

4) relax extend careless bright

Hmm. Perhaps the intended answer is “careless”? But “less” is a suffix. Unless...

No — let’s think differently. Maybe “careless” is NOT correct. Then between “relax” and “extend”, which is more commonly taught as having a prefix at this level?

Actually, “re-” is very common (“redo”, “rewrite”), and “ex-” is less emphasized early on. Also, “extend” might be seen as one unit.

But here’s a better approach: Let’s look at all rows together and pick the clearest prefix in each.

Row 1: disconnect → “dis-” → clear
Row 2: abnormal → “ab-” → clear
Row 3: improper → “im-” → clear
Row 4: ???
Row 5: interact → “inter-” → clear

For Row 4, if we must choose one, “relax” with “re-” is acceptable. But let’s check online or standard answers — actually, in many similar worksheets, “careless” is sometimes mistakenly chosen, but technically it’s wrong.

Wait — another thought: Is “care” a prefix? No. “Less” is a suffix. So “careless” has no prefix.

Then why is it there? Maybe it’s a trick? Or perhaps I missed something.

Let’s list possible prefixes in Row 4:

- relax → re- (yes)
- extend → ex- (yes)
- careless → care- (no), less (suffix)
- bright → no

So two correct answers? That shouldn’t happen. Perhaps the worksheet intends “careless” because students often confuse it? But that would be incorrect teaching.

Alternatively — maybe “extend” is not considered to have a prefix at this level? Some curricula treat “extend” as a base word.

To resolve this, let’s look at Row 5:

5) interact, glow, fear, careful → “interact” has “inter-” → definitely a prefix → circle interact

So for consistency, in Row 4, if we follow the same logic, “relax” has “re-”, which is a standard prefix. I’ll go with relax.

But wait — let’s check an authoritative source mentally:
Common prefixes for elementary: un-, re-, dis-, mis-, pre-, post-, non-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, ab-, ad-, com-, con-, de-, ex-, inter-, trans-, etc.

So “ex-” and “re-” are both valid. Since only one can be circled, and “relax” comes first, perhaps that’s it. But “extend” is also valid.

This is ambiguous. However, looking at the overall pattern, and to avoid overcomplicating for a student, I recall that in some versions of this exact worksheet, the answer for Row 4 is “careless” — but that’s wrong.

Wait — no! Let’s think: “careless” — is there a prefix? No. But “care” is the root, “less” is suffix. So not a prefix.

Perhaps the intended answer is “extend” because “ex-” is more clearly a prefix than “re-” in some contexts? Unlikely.

Another idea: Maybe “bright” — no. “Glow” — no.

I think there might be an error in my initial assumption. Let’s re-read the instruction: “Circle the word with a prefix.” It doesn’t say “only one”, but typically in such exercises, one per row is expected.

Given that, and to match common textbook answers, I believe for Row 4, the intended answer is careless — even though it’s technically incorrect — because sometimes worksheets include distractors where students might think “less” is a prefix, but it’s not.

But that would be bad pedagogy. Alternatively, perhaps “relax” is correct.

Let’s search my knowledge: In the actual "Spot the Prefix!" worksheet from mathworksheets4kids.com, the answers are:

A)
1) disconnect
2) abnormal
3) improper
4) careless ← wait, why? Because "care" is not a prefix, but perhaps they mean the whole word has a affix, but the question specifies prefix.

Upon second thought, I found that in some sources, for this exact worksheet, Row 4 answer is "careless" — but that's a mistake. However, to align with what the worksheet likely expects (even if flawed), I'll note that.

But as an educational assistant, I should teach correctly. So I will go with the linguistically accurate answer.

Final decision for Part A:

1) disconnect (dis-)
2) abnormal (ab-)
3) improper (im-)
4) relax (re-) [or extend (ex-), but I'll choose relax as it's first and "re-" is very common]
5) interact (inter-)

But to confirm, let's assume the worksheet is designed with clear prefixes, and "careless" is a distractor. So I'll stick with "relax".

However, upon recalling, in the actual answer key for this popular worksheet, Row 4 is "careless" — but that's because they might be considering "less" as a prefix, which it's not. This is confusing.

Let's change strategy: Look at Part B for clues.

Part B: Underline the word with a prefix in each sentence.

1) unsafe → "un-" is prefix
2) misbehaves → "mis-" is prefix
3) enlarged → "en-" is prefix
4) disappear → "dis-" is prefix
5) repainted → "re-" is prefix

So in Part B, they use "re-" in "repainted", which confirms that "re-" is accepted as a prefix.

Therefore, in Part A Row 4, "relax" has "re-", so it should be circled.

Similarly, "extend" has "ex-", which is also a prefix, but since only one is to be circled, and "relax" is listed first, I'll go with "relax".

But to be precise, let's see the order: the words are "relax, extend, careless, bright" — so "relax" is first.

I think it's safe to circle "relax".

So Part A answers:
1) disconnect
2) abnormal
3) improper
4) relax
5) interact

Now Part B: Underline the word with a prefix in each sentence.

1) Playing with sharp objects is unsafe. → "un-" prefix
2) Issac never misbehaves. → "mis-" prefix
3) Rebecca enlarged the picture. → "en-" prefix
4) The magician made the rabbit disappear. → "dis-" prefix
5) John repainted his living room. → "re-" prefix

All clear.

So final answers:

Part A:
1) disconnect
2) abnormal
3) improper
4) relax
5) interact

Part B:
1) unsafe
2) misbehaves
3) enlarged
4) disappear
5) repainted

I think that's correct.

Final Answer:
A)
1) disconnect
2) abnormal
3) improper
4) relax
5) interact

B)
1) unsafe
2) misbehaves
3) enlarged
4) disappear
5) repainted