What does multicultural mean?
Word: Multicultural
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Multicultural means made up of, or including, people of many different cultures, languages and traditions.
Synonyms: diverse
How do you spell multicultural?
Syllables: mul - ti - cul - tur - al
Tricky part: The opening part, which means 'many', ends in i, as in multiply and multimedia. Multacultural and multecultural are slips.
Watch out for: multacultural, multecultural
Memory tip: Multi means many, and it always ends in i: many colours, many cultures, one i.
Multicultural in a sentence
Example 1: Our class is multicultural, with friends whose families come from Kerala, Nepal and Kenya.
Example 2: The city's multicultural food street sells momos, dosas and falafel side by side.
Example 3: A multicultural festival at the community hall celebrated music from five countries.
Fun Fact
Canada became the first country to adopt multiculturalism as an official government policy, in 1971.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
multic_lt_ral
a) u, u
b) u, e
c) a, u
d) o, u
Show answer
a) u, u. The root is culture, which has a u in both of these places.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
multicultureal
a) r
b) e
c) l
d) c
Show answer
b) e. The e of culture drops out when -al is added.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
Singapore is a uurlttlimaluc city where English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil are all official languages.
a) multinational
b) horticultural
c) multicultural
d) agricultural
Show answer
c) multicultural. Agricultural needs a g, horticultural an h and an o, and multinational an n; multicultural matches the letters given.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. heritage 2. diversity 3. multicultural 4. traditon
a) the history and customs a group inherits
b) a wide range of different things or people
c) a custom or belief passed down over many years
d) including people of many different backgrounds
Show answer
c) a custom or belief passed down over many years. Tradition has an i before the on, as all -tion words do; the other three are correct.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which group is the most multicultural?
a) a choir with singers from eight countries
b) a club whose members share one language
c) a family of four sharing a flat
d) a cricket team from one small village
Show answer
a) a choir with singers from eight countries
2. The canteen menu of a multicultural school would include ____.
a) sandwiches and nothing else
b) only plain rice and dal
c) dishes from many countries
d) the same lunch every day
Show answer
c) dishes from many countries
