What does stencil mean?
Word: Stencil
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Stencil means a thin sheet with shapes cut out of it. You paint or draw through the holes to copy the shapes.
How do you spell stencil?
Syllables: sten - cil
Tricky part: The end is il, not el or le, even though the sound there is very soft. Stencel is the slip to watch.
Watch out for: stencel, stencle
Memory tip: A pupil uses a stencil in art class, and the two words end with the same two letters.
Stencil in a sentence
Example 1: Pooja used a star stencil to decorate her project cover.
Example 2: The sign painter held the stencil flat against the wall.
Example 3: We made a leaf stencil from an old cereal box.
Fun Fact
Some of the oldest hand pictures in the world are really stencils: cave artists blew paint around a hand held against the rock.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) utensil
b) council
c) stensil
d) parcel
Show answer
c) stensil. The soft s sound here is spelt with a c, so stensil is wrong; the other three are correct.
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
e, i
a) st_nc_l
b) t_ns_l
c) c_nc_l
d) s_nd_l
Show answer
a) st_nc_l. Put e and i in the gaps of st_nc_l and you have the word; the other three need different vowels.
Sound Check
Which of the following words has the same 'e' sound as in stencil?
a) sweet
b) bread
c) she
d) they
Show answer
b) bread. Bread has the same short e; the other words have longer vowel sounds.
Word Champ
Which of the words cannot be made using the letters in the given word?
stencil
a) listen
b) silence
c) insect
d) since
Show answer
b) silence. Try it letter by letter: the second e of silence is missing.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why does a stencil help you to paint neat letters?
a) the paper becomes much thicker
b) the edges guide your brush
c) the colours grow far brighter
d) the paint dries more quickly
Show answer
b) the edges guide your brush
2. Which job would a stencil make quicker?
a) folding twenty clean shirts
b) sharpening twenty old pencils
c) painting a name on twenty boxes
d) counting twenty glass marbles
Show answer
c) painting a name on twenty boxes
