What does reservoir mean?
Word: Reservoir
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Reservoir means a large lake, natural or made by people, where water is stored for a town or city.
How do you spell reservoir?
Syllables: res - er - voir
Tricky part: The ending comes straight from French. Students hear something like vwah, then swap the last two vowels or add a letter at the end.
Watch out for: reservior, reservoire
Memory tip: Think of the French goodbye au revoir. The o comes before the i there, and it does here too.
Reservoir in a sentence
Example 1: We walked along the edge of the reservoir at sunset.
Example 2: Our town's reservoir is more than a hundred years old.
Example 3: Engineers measure the level of the reservoir every morning.
Fun Fact
English speakers also talk about a reservoir of talent, meaning a large supply waiting to be used. That fits the French original, which meant a place to store things.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
res_rvoir
a) u
b) e
c) i
d) a
Show answer
b) e. Reserve, the word for keeping something back, has the same vowel in the same place.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. reservoir 2. dam 3. canal a. a strong wall built across a river b. a long waterway dug for boats c. a huge pool of drinking water kept for the dry months
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
Show answer
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. The wall holds water back, boats need the dug waterway, and the pool keeps the water for later.
Sound Check
In which word is 's' pronounced differently?
a) basket
b) busy
c) reservoir
d) music
Show answer
a) basket. Basket keeps a hissing s; in the other three it buzzes like a z.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the sentence?
The new dam has created a huge reservoir that suplies clean water to the whole distric throughout the hot season.
a) 1
b) 3
c) 4
d) 2
Show answer
d) 2. Supplies needs another p and district needs its final t; the rest are right.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why might a city worry if this store of water runs low in May?
a) its roads could get crowded
b) its taps could run short
c) its shops could close early
d) its buses could run late
Show answer
b) its taps could run short
2. When does a reservoir in India usually fill up the most?
a) during the monsoon
b) in early spring
c) in late winter
d) at the height of summer
Show answer
a) during the monsoon
