Vocabulary Boosters

Use these 25 vocabulary words from Holes for your weekly list, daily word study, or spelling exercises. For extra spelling practice, your students can race to familiarize themselves with these words in the game, The Treasure of Green Lake when they go through the Time Warp and visit with Sam and Kate.

1. Barren ( ba -ruhn)
adjective
If land is barren, farmers cannot grow crops on it.

2. Blisters ( bliss -turs)
noun
Sore bubbles of skin filled with liquid, which are caused by something burning the skin or rubbing against it

3. Canteen (kan- teen )
noun
A small portable metal container for holding water or other liquids

4. Curse (kurss)
noun
An evil spell intended to harm someone

5. Desolate ( dess -uh-luht)
adjective

1. Deserted or uninhabited, as in a desolate village
2. Sad and lonely:After my friend left, I felt desolate.

6. Destiny ( dess -tuh-nee)
noun
A destiny is a person's fate or the future events in that person's life.

7. Excavate ( ek -skuh-vate)
verb
To dig in the earth, either to put up a building or to search for ancient remains

8. Expanse (ek -spanss )
noun
A broad, open area: A vast expanse of desert stretched ahead.

9. Fortune ( for -chuhn)
noun

1. Fate or destiny: The psychic told my fortune by looking into her crystal ball.
2. Chance or good luck: I had the good fortune to find a summer job.
3. A large amount of money: Joseph won a fortune in the lottery.

10. Fossil ( foss -uhl)
noun
The remains or traces of an animal or a plant from millions of years ago, preserved as rock

11. Horizon (hur- rye -zuhn)
noun

1. The line where the sky and the earth or sea seem to meet: Ellen watched the sun set over the horizon.
2. The limit of experiences or opportunities: Travel broadens your horizons.

12. Innocent ( in -uh-sunt)
adjective
Not guilty

13. Inventor (in- vent -ur)
noun
Someone who thinks up and creates something new

14. Juvenile ( joo -vuh-nuhl or joo -vuh- nile )

1. noun A young person who is not yet an adult according to the law
2. adjective Of or for young people, as in juvenile books

15. Lizard ( liz -urd)
noun
A reptile with a scaly body, four legs, and a long tail

16. Lullaby ( luhl -uh- bye )
noun
A gentle song sung to soothe a baby to sleep

17. Nickname ( nik - name )
noun

1. A descriptive name used with or instead of a person's real name: Many left-handed pitchers have the nickname Lefty.
2. A familiar or shortened form of a name: Marty is a nickname for Martin.

18. Physical ( fiz -uh-kuhl)
adjective
To do with the body, as in physical education

19. Rhyme ( rime)

1. verb If words rhyme, they end with the same sounds: The word seat rhymes with neat and feet.
2. noun Half of a pair of words that end with the same sound

20. Run-down
adjective

1. Old and in need of repair: The run-down house was not a safe place for anyone to live.
2. Tired or weak

21. Stream ( streem )
noun
A body of flowing water, especially a brook or a small river

22. Thirsty ( thur -stee)
adjective
If a person is thirsty, she wants to drink something

23. Tube ( toob )
noun

1. A long, hollow cylinder, especially one used to carry or hold liquids, as in a test tube
2. A long container made of soft metal or plastic with a cap that screws on, as in a tube of toothpaste

24. Venom ( ven -uhm)
noun

1. Poison produced by some snakes and spiders; venom is usually passed into a victim's body through a bite or sting
2. Ill will; spite or malice: Elliott responded to the bully's question with venom in his voice.

25. Warden ( word -uhn)
noun
Someone in charge of a prison