1,314 FREE Reading Comprehension Worksheets, Games and Tests
BusyTeacher Home » Reading Comprehension

FREE Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Reading is a very important part of learning a language. It's considered a receptive skill, otherwise known as a passive skill, which means that students don’t necessarily have to produce language - just receive it. But more often than not, students have difficulty reading because of vocabulary and/or the context involved. BusyTeacher.org offers 1,314 reading comprehension worksheets that are sure to help your students stay engaged in their reading, by providing interesting stories and effective exercises.

We as teachers don’t always have the time to make up our own stories, or go through books to pick out excerpts to present in our lessons. The reading worksheets on BusyTeacher.org offer a variety of different stories and texts in different categories and genres to help your students improve their reading ability and learn the language, all the while enjoying the stories they're reading. Depending on what you're aiming to teach, you can use these worksheets in a whole variety of different ways in the classroom. If a worksheet has a story that contains dialogue, you could assign roles to students and have them act out what the characters say. You can also use the stories on the worksheets to create comprehension questions. Some worksheets can even make for classroom discussion topics. After reading a passage, you can present a question to students, and ask them to give their opinions of where the story is going. These are just some of the many things you can do to make use of these worksheets in the classroom.

Whether you're teaching scanning, skimming, critical thinking, or reading for gist, BusyTeacher.org has the worksheet(s) you need for your lessons. There are worksheets on just about any topic you can think of - sports, business, history, and holidays to name a few. Another handy feature on BusyTeacher.org is that each worksheet has the level shown in the description, which makes it easy for you to find an appropriate worksheet for your students. The thumbnail can be opened to full page view, so you can check if the worksheet is right for your lesson. Some worksheets you'll find here are appropriate for several - or even for all levels, which means they're reusable for a future lessons with students at different levels.

No registration or subscription is necessary to download our worksheets. They’re all free to download, copy, and use in your lessons. Plus, all of them were created and uploaded by fellow ESL teachers from all around the globe, and have helped other ESL teachers in their lessons. In addition, if you have a worksheet you've created and would like to submit it to this site, you can do so by clicking the “Submit a worksheet” link at the bottom of this page. Join thousands of other ESL teachers using BusyTeacher.org, and bookmark us as your number-one stop for worksheets to use in your lessons daily! With 1,314 reading worksheets, planning your lessons has never been easier. Get started by checking out the most popular worksheets below. Try downloading one and using it in your lesson today!

Filter by Level
NEW
  • Complete Beginner (84)
  • Elementary (604)
  • Pre-Intermediate (473)
  • Intermediate (521)
  • Upper-Intermediate Advanced (330)
  • Exam Level (103)
  • Suitable for All Levels (20)
Clear filters
Filter
Dramatically improve the way you teach:




Make A Word Search:

Create awesome-looking custom word searches in seconds!

Make A Word Scramble:

Instantly create custom word/sentence scrambles for your class!

Make A Double Puzzle:

Generate double puzzles your students will love - hours of fun!

ESL Articles
Rate this Category
4.1 out of 5, rated by 53 teachers




Sort by: Most Recent | Most Viewed | Rating
The Marquis and Miss Sally: Short Story Worksheet [O. Henry]

The Marquis and Miss Sally: Short Story Worksheet [O. Henry]

, Reading Comprehension
The worksheet contains a short story by O. Henry (The Marquis and Miss Sally) with several assignments to check students` understanding and help them learn lexical material the story provides. ...
8 Views 11,955 AdvExam
Before, At and After School

Before, At and After School

, , , Reading Comprehension
Reading activtiy about what students do before, at and after school. They cut and glue the pictures to complete the text about a student' s day. Finally, they read the text again ans answer questi ...
22 Views 11,895 Elem
Children and Watching TV: Reading Worksheet

Children and Watching TV: Reading Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading comprehension worksheet for intermediate students who are asked to read text, match each word / phrase with its equivalent in the context of the text, fill in the table with the ...
15 Views 34,521 Pre-IntInt
Solving Scenarios

Solving Scenarios

, , , Reading Comprehension
This is a worksheet where the students take the role of people who are in charge of a travel agency and are confronted with four different scenarios. They face problems that may happen during a to ...
23 Views 52,721 IntAdv
Present Perfect Worksheet

Present Perfect Worksheet

, , Reading Comprehension
After introducing a new tense it is only natural to start with form practice. Therefore I have created this worksheet for practising Present Perfect Tense. It includes both regular and irregular v ...
40 Views 28,380 Pre-Int
Put BusyTeacher in your inbox

Sign up for the BusyTeacher Weekly and be the first to get direct links to our latest teaching articles, worksheets and lesson plans. Goes out to 323,134 subscribers every Wednesday.
See last week's issue.

Things To Do In Brighton: Reading Worksheet

Things To Do In Brighton: Reading Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
A simple reading about a town and questions to answer from text. Students can easily find the answers with some key words from the questions. I did this with my students and it was successful! ...
11 Views 12,909 Elem
What is Community?

What is Community?

Reading Comprehension
What is a community? In the dictionary you will find different meanings. One meaning is that a community is a group of people who live in the same area. Another meaning is a group of people who ha ...
7 Views 13,129 Pre-Int
Haunted Mansion [Mixed Tenses and Verb Forms]

Haunted Mansion [Mixed Tenses and Verb Forms]

, Reading Comprehension
The text in the worksheet is about Chingle Hall, England, which has been known as the most haunted house in Britain. I found it in Headway Upper-Intermediate. There are excellent examples of narra ...
21 Views 25,673 IntAdvExam
My Mother's Day: Reading Comprehension Test

My Mother's Day: Reading Comprehension Test

, , , Reading Comprehension
This is a reading comprehension paper for beginner and elementary levels. Students read then write about daily routines. The grammar focus is on simple present and adverbs of frequency with both f ...
17 Views 35,878 BegElem
Postcard From England: Reading Worksheet

Postcard From England: Reading Worksheet

, , , Reading Comprehension
A reading comprehension worksheet for ESL and EFL students suitable for pre-intermediate to intermediate levels, this test deals with travel experiences. The students are to answer some comprehens ...
19 Views 36,442 Pre-IntInt
I, Too, Sing America: Poem by James Langston Hughes

I, Too, Sing America: Poem by James Langston Hughes

Reading Comprehension
James Langston Hughes was the eminent member of “The Harlem Renaissance”, the cultural movement of African American intellectuals in the 1920s and 1930s. His poem “I, too, sing A ...
5 Views 11,559 AdvExam
Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Reading Comprehension
An exercise for reading comprehension to test students' understanding of the whole text. It will test students' ability to read (skimming/scanning reading skills) for main ideas and supporting det ...
11 Views 57,253 Pre-IntInt
Fair Game (Mixed Tenses)

Fair Game (Mixed Tenses)

, Reading Comprehension
Fair Game is a romantic novel written by Elisabeth Young. The following adaptation is taken from the first chapter. Students have to fill in the gaps with suitable tenses or verb forms. The worksh ...
10 Views 15,317 IntAdvExam
Whale Saved From Fishing Net [Mixed Tenses & Verb Forms]

Whale Saved From Fishing Net [Mixed Tenses & Verb Forms]

, Reading Comprehension
A moving article about saving a whale's life. The worksheet is appropriate for upper-intermediate to proficiency level students of English. There are gaps that have to be filled in with accurate v ...
13 Views 20,566 AdvExam
Girl Barred From Top Store [Mixed Tenses]

Girl Barred From Top Store [Mixed Tenses]

, Reading Comprehension
An excellent example of Narrative tenses exercise for upper-intermediate and advanced students of English. I took it from Headway Upper-Intermediate. The text contains past simple and continuous, ...
13 Views 27,187 AdvExam
Shopping in England: Reading Worksheet

Shopping in England: Reading Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
This is a reading comprehension worksheet for intermediate students who are asked to read the text , decide whether the sentences are true or false, find in the last two paragraphs of the text wo ...
27 Views 42,017 Pre-IntInt
Song Worksheet: Stitch by Stitch from The Voice

Song Worksheet: Stitch by Stitch from The Voice

This listening activity consists of a reading text about The Voice and the first season winner of the competition. It is a lead-in activity to the lyrics of the song Stitch by Stitch. Teacher's No ...
4 Views 6,025 Int
I'm Nobody! Who Are You? (Poem by Emily Dickinson)

I'm Nobody! Who Are You? (Poem by Emily Dickinson)

, Reading Comprehension
The poem “I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you - Nobody - too? ....” is magnificent. It isn't too long, it doesn't contain numerous new words, it is witty and humorous - it is quite mode ...
11 Views 32,927 IntAdvExam
A Call For Improved National Ñrisis Management Policy: Authentic Reading Worksheet

A Call For Improved National Ñrisis Management Policy: Authentic Reading Worksheet

This worksheet deals with the topic "Crisis Management." It was created as an extra resource for Unit 11 of the Market Leader Upper-Intermediate. The authentic article tells about the Great East J ...
8 Views 11,231 IntAdvExam
Spending Time With Family

Spending Time With Family

, Reading Comprehension
This worksheet was made up to be worked with intermediate conversation classes. In this lesson you will have your students talk about how they spend time with their family. Other than that, you wi ...
5 Views 10,352 Pre-IntInt
Parents Help Kids Lie To Get On Facebook: Authentic Reading Worksheet

Parents Help Kids Lie To Get On Facebook: Authentic Reading Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
A reading comprehension / fluency speaking exercise using authentic material. The topic is the Pros and Contras of Facebook. For Intermediate+ levels. There is a scanning then a comprehension tas ...
12 Views 15,850 IntAdvExam
Saint Patrick's Day Reading Comprehension

Saint Patrick's Day Reading Comprehension

, Reading Comprehension,
A short text to read on Saint Patrick's day celebration, its origin and the main traditions related to it, together with a set of questions so that it can be used as a reading comprehension exerci ...
30 Views 90,753 Pre-IntInt
The Man in the Iron Mask: Reading Worksheet

The Man in the Iron Mask: Reading Worksheet

Reading Comprehension
This is a set of comprehension activities to be used with the Reader's 'The Man in the Iron Mask'. The activities include matching, correcting mistakes, answering questions, etc. The set includes ...
10 Views 19,429 Pre-Int
Tinker's Island

Tinker's Island

Reading Comprehension
The worksheet contains additional exercises on Tinkers Island, a simplified book for beginners to elementary students of English. You can find more information and exercises on the book on the fol ...
5 Views 9,774 BegElem
Main Idea: Reading Worksheet

Main Idea: Reading Worksheet

, Reading Comprehension
Suitable for grade four to five in ESL students. This worksheet can be used to check their understanding of getting the main ideas from the context through questioning. Finding the main idea of a ...
13 Views 41,467 Elem

Got a great worksheet on Reading Comprehension? Tell us about it and become a BusyTeacher contributor!

Submit a Worksheet