What does wholesome mean?
Word: Wholesome
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Wholesome means good for your body or your mind, like fresh home-cooked food or a kind, clean film that the entire family can enjoy.
Synonyms: nourishing, nutritious
How do you spell wholesome?
Syllables: whole - some
Tricky part: It begins with wh, but the w is silent, so you hear only an h sound. Many pupils start the word with a plain h.
Watch out for: holesome, wolesome
Memory tip: The question word who is hiding at the front. Who starts with a w you never hear, and so does this word.
Wholesome in a sentence
Example 1: Grandma makes a wholesome breakfast of porridge and boiled eggs.
Example 2: The film was wholesome fun, so all of us in class watched it together.
Example 3: After a wholesome lunch of lentils, rice and vegetables, we felt ready for games.
Fun Fact
The first part of this word once meant healthy. Heal, health and hale all grew from the same old root, so a wholesome meal was one that kept you well.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: wholesome
a) pure
b) unhealthy
c) simple
d) natural
Show answer
b) unhealthy. Something unhealthy does you harm, the opposite of food or fun that does you good.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
smwoeehlo
a) worrisome
b) wholesome
c) wholesale
d) handsome
Show answer
b) wholesome. Wholesale has an a, worrisome an r and an i, and handsome an a, an n and a d, so they cannot be made.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) vegitable
b) wholesome
c) delishus
d) protien
Show answer
b) wholesome. Protein has its e before the i, delicious is spelt with ci, and vegetable has an e after the g.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
whol_s_me
a) a, o
b) i, o
c) e, o
d) e, u
Show answer
c) e, o. Hear it as whole and some: the first part keeps its e, and the end is spelt like the word some.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which snack would most people call wholesome?
a) a bag of fizzy sweets
b) a bowl of fruit and nuts
c) a can of sugary cola
d) a plate of oily chips
Show answer
b) a bowl of fruit and nuts
2. A wholesome story for children is one that ____.
a) is printed in very small type
b) has only a few short pages
c) teaches kindness and good habits
d) is sold at a very high price
Show answer
c) teaches kindness and good habits
