Suffixes (ful, less) worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

We are working with two suffixes:
- -ful means “full of”
- -less means “without”

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Part 1: Write the word next to each definition

We need to think of a root word and add either -ful or -less to match the meaning.

1. full of hope → root = hope + ful = hopeful
2. without taste → root = taste + less = tasteless
3. without fear → root = fear + less = fearless
4. full of color → root = color + ful = colorful
5. full of pain → root = pain + ful = painful
6. without end → root = end + less = endless

✔ All these make sense and follow the rule.

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Part 2: Match the root word to correct suffix

We look at each root word and decide whether adding -ful or -less makes a real, meaningful word.

1. worth → worth + less = worthless (makes sense) → match with less
*(Note: “worthful” is not commonly used — we say “valuable” instead)*

2. cheer → cheer + ful = cheerful (common word) → match with ful

3. disgrace → disgrace + less = disgraceless? Not really common. But wait — actually, “disgraceful” IS a word! It means “shameful”. So:
→ disgrace + ful = disgraceful → match with ful

*Wait — let’s double-check:*
- “Disgraceless” isn’t standard English.
- “Disgraceful” is correct and common.
→ So it should be ful

4. home → home + less = homeless (very common) → match with less

5. success → success + ful = successful (yes!) → match with ful

6. hat → hat + less = hatless (means without a hat — valid, though less common)
→ hat + ful? “Hatful” could mean full of hats? Not really a standard word.
→ “Hatless” is acceptable → match with less

But wait — let’s check again for accuracy:

Actually, in school-level worksheets like this, they expect common words.

Let’s list expected matches:

- worth → worthless → less
- cheer → cheerful → ful
- disgrace → disgraceful → ful ✔ (not less)
- home → homeless → less
- success → successful → ful
- hat → hatless → less

So final matching:

Left side → Right side:

- worth → less
- cheer → ful
- disgrace → ful
- home → less
- success → ful
- hat → less

That gives us three “ful” and three “less” — which matches the options given on the right (three ful, three less).

Perfect.

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Final Answer:

Part 1: Words for definitions

- full of hope → hopeful
- without taste → tasteless
- without fear → fearless
- full of color → colorful
- full of pain → painful
- without end → endless

Part 2: Matching root words to suffixes

- worth → less
- cheer → ful
- disgrace → ful
- home → less
- success → ful
- hat → less