Select the words that don’t belong

Key Notes :

What does “words that don’t belong” mean?

• Sometimes, we are given a list of words.
• One or more words in the list do not fit with the others.
• These are called words that don’t belong.

How to find words that don’t belong:

• Look carefully at all the words in the list.
• Identify the common feature shared by most words.
• Select the word that does not have the feature.

Features to check:

• Type/Category → e.g., fruits, animals, vehicles
• Color → e.g., red, blue, green
• Size → e.g., big, small, tiny
• Function/Use → e.g., things used for cooking, things used for writing

Tips for Spotting the Odd One Out

Here are some helpful tips to find the word that doesn’t belong:

• Read all the words carefully. Make sure you understand what each word means.
• Think about what the words have in common. What category might they belong to?
• Look for differences. Is there a word that doesn’t fit the category?
• Say the words out loud. Sometimes, hearing the words can help you spot the odd one out.
• Don’t overthink it! Sometimes the answer is simpler than you think.

Examples

Let’s look at some examples:

Example 1: apple, banana, carrot, orange

• Which word doesn’t belong? Carrot. The other words are fruits, and a carrot is a vegetable.

Example 2: run, jump, sing, slowly

• Which word doesn’t belong? Slowly. The other words are verbs (actions), and “slowly” is an adverb (describes how).

Example 3: blue, red, big, green

• Which word doesn’t belong? Big. The other words are colors, and “big” describes size.

Practice Time!

Now it’s your turn! Try to find the word that doesn’t belong in each group:

1. dog, cat, bird, table
2. happy, sad, angry, quickly
3. chair, sofa, bed, plate
4. sun, moon, star, cloud
5. swim, dance, eat, beautiful

(Answers: 1. table, 2. quickly, 3. plate, 4. cloud, 5. beautiful)

Next Steps

Keep practicing finding the odd word out! You can play this game with friends or family. You can also look for these kinds of questions in workbooks or online. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at recognizing categories and spotting the words that don’t belong. Have fun becoming a word detective!

Let’s practice!