What does hint mean?
Word: Hint
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Hint means a small clue that helps you guess or work something out without being told the whole answer.
Synonyms: clue
How do you spell hint?
Syllables: hint
Tricky part: Some children hear the short vowel as an e or a long ee and write heent. The vowel is a short i, as in pin.
Watch out for: heent, hient
Memory tip: Picture a tiny pin pointing the way to an answer: a hint and a pin share the same short i.
Hint in a sentence
Example 1: Our teacher gave us a hint: the answer is an animal with stripes.
Example 2: If you are stuck on the puzzle, I can give you a hint.
Example 3: Grandpa dropped a hint that we were going to the zoo on Sunday.
Fun Fact
Hint can also mean a very small amount of something. A cook might add just a hint of cardamom to the tea.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
From which option does a letter need to be removed to make a meaningful word?
a) puzzle
b) hinte
c) riddle
d) guess
Show answer
b) hinte. Take away the letter at the very end and the clue word is left.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with hint?
a) mint
b) print
c) squint
d) pint
Show answer
d) pint. Pint has a long vowel, like pine. The others have the short sound of tin.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. hint 2. hill 3. hinge
a) 213
b) 132
c) 231
d) 321
Show answer
c) 231. All three start with hi. The third letters l and n settle the rest, and hinge comes before hint because g comes before t.
Spell Spies
Choose the option with no spelling errors:
a) hint, mystry, solv, secret
b) hint, mistry, solve, sekret
c) hint, mystery, solve, secret
d) hint, mistery, solve, secrit
Show answer
c) hint, mystery, solve, secret. Mystery has a y after the m and an e before the r, solve ends in a quiet e, and secret has an e before the t.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Papa says, 'Here is a hint: it is long, yellow and you peel it.' What is he thinking of?
a) a carrot
b) a lemon
c) a tomato
d) a banana
Show answer
d) a banana
2. During a quiz, Mrs Iyer says, 'I will drop a hint.' What is she most likely to do next?
a) say something that points to the answer
b) ask a much harder question instead
c) end the quiz and collect the sheets
d) tell everyone the answer straight away
Show answer
a) say something that points to the answer
