Compound Words

English · Phonics & Word Reading · ages 5-8

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which two words make up 'football'?
- foot and ball
- food and ball
- foot and bell
Which two words make up 'jellyfish'?
- jelly and dish
- jelly and fish
- jello and fish
Which two words make up 'bathroom'?
- bat and room
- bath and room
- bath and broom
Which two words make up sunset?
- sun and set
- son and set
- sun and sit
Which of these words is a compound word?
- finger
- basket
- firefly
Join 'rain' and 'bow'. What compound word do you get?
- rainbow
- bowrain
- rainbrow
Zoe looks at the word 'birdhouse'. She finds 'bird' and 'house' hiding inside it. What kind of word is birdhouse?
- A rhyming word
- A vowel team
- A compound word
Which two words make up 'bedtime'?
- bet and time
- bed and dime
- bed and time
A bookcase holds books. Which part of bookcase tells what it holds?
- case
- both
- book
Which word is NOT a compound word?
- moonlight
- window
- doorbell

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

foot and ball · Foot plus ball makes football.
jelly and fish · Jelly plus fish makes jellyfish.
bath and room · Bath plus room makes bathroom.
sun and set · Sun and set join in that order to spell sunset.
firefly · Firefly is built from fire and fly. Finger and basket are not made by joining two smaller words.
rainbow · Rain plus bow, in that order, spells rainbow.
A compound word · Bird and house are two small words joined together, so birdhouse is a compound word.
bed and time · Bed plus time makes bedtime.
book · Book tells what the case holds. Case names the thing that holds the books.
window · Moonlight joins moon and light. Doorbell joins door and bell. Window is not built from two smaller words.