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Compound Words

When two small words are joined together, the new word is called a compound word. Use the printable worksheets and activities below to help you teach students about this phonics skill.

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Home » Worksheets » Top 9 Hand-Picked Worksheets for Teaching Compound Words

Top 9 Hand-Picked Worksheets for Teaching Compound Words

A compound words worksheet is a powerful tool to teach the fundamentals of compound words, how to use them, and strengthens your students’ reading and writing skills. Selecting worksheets that clearly define compound words and offer fun learning activities provide invaluable tools to add to your students’ toolboxes.

Worksheets engage children with their hands-on approach. This helps them retain information quickly. Select classroom worksheets that cover the three types of compound words:

• Closed compound words
• Hyphenated compound words
• Open compound words

Using worksheets makes learning fun, and boosts enthusiasm for reading, spelling, and writing compound words. They reinforce the concept that compound words are formed by combining two different words to make a new word. Once children realize how to create a compound word, learning goes from mundane to fascinating. 

Are you still debating whether compound word worksheets are effective and which ones are the most engaging? Read more to find out answers to your questions about where to find worksheets, which are the best, and the difference between paid vs free worksheets. 

Table of Contents

• How Does a Compound Word Worksheet Engage Students? 

What to Look for When Choosing Compound Word Worksheets

• What Are the Most Engaging Worksheets to Teach Compound Words?   
• Where Can I Find Engaging Compound Words Worksheets Online? 

Pros and Cons of Paid vs Free Worksheets

Teach simple offers relevant, top-quality compound word worksheets to get students engaged in lessons, how does a compound word worksheet engage students.

Hands-on activities like worksheets promote engagement in children as they discover ways to see how two small words become one large word, strengthening their word awareness. It takes away the fear of looking at a long word and trying to sound it out. 

The visual learning that a worksheet offers produces a eureka moment for children. They suddenly realize that long, compound words are fun to make and recognize.  

Rather than studying a long list of compound words, worksheets engage children in the following ways:

• Connecting words to form a compound word
• Match two words to form one word
• Recognize the difference between a single word and a compound word
• Practice writing compound words.

The best compound word worksheets incorporate colorful graphics with compound word fundamentals. Build enthusiasm with worksheets incorporating puzzles, reading, cutting, and matching games.

Each worksheet should reinforce various aspects of closed, hyphenated, and open compound words.

When choosing worksheets, ensure they meet the following criteria:

Targets One Type of Compound Word

Each compound word worksheet should target one type of compound word, so children aren’t overwhelmed. 

Once they master a worksheet for closed compound words like firefly or softball, they can move on to hyphenated words like merry-go-round, and then open compound words, such as dining room.

Creates a Fun and Engaging Lesson

Teachers understand what it takes to make learning effective for all their students. When they develop worksheets, they incorporate their expertise into fun and engaging worksheets that appeal to young readers. 

Offers a Variety of Activities

Compound word worksheets should offer several types of interesting activities to keep children motivated. Whether it’s a word search, matching game, word cutouts, or reading activity, variety is the key to inspiring children. 

What Are the Most Engaging Worksheets to Teach Compound Words?

• Hands-on Compound Words Cutting Worksheet By Have Fun Teaching

Keeping children motivated is easy with this compound words worksheet. The word bank features 20 words with dotted lines for cutting. 

Students cut out the words and use them to create closed compound words. They glue the new words on the worksheet. 

• Creating Compound Words Worksheet By Have Fun Teaching

This worksheet gives students practice with developing word segmentation experience. In the first section, children read two words, form the compound word, and provide a definition of the new word. 

The second half of the worksheet features reading sentences and defining words. This adds variety to maintain your students’ enthusiasm.

• Compound Word Analysis Worksheet By Have Fun Teaching

Rather than creating compound words, this worksheet instructs students to break a compound word into its two words. After doing this, they write a definition of the compound word. 

This worksheet is wonderful for developing independent thinking skills and analyzing the formation of compound words.

At the bottom of the workshop, there’s a fun drawing activity. After selecting a compound word, the children draw three pictures of the two separate words and the compound word.

• Compound Words – What A Pair By Quail Trail Products

Developed for K-1, this worksheet introduces compound words in a colorful, Valentine-themed activity. The matching game features color and black-and-white options. 

There’s also a challenge section where students think of other compound words not mentioned in the matching game.

• All-in-One Compound Word Worksheets And Activities By Subplanners By Jean Snowden

This all-in-one compound word packet is a lifesaver for busy teachers. It includes everything you need to keep your students engaged and develop a strong, fundamental knowledge of compound words.

It includes resources for teachers, as well as worksheets for students to learn 24 of the common compound words. The engaging activities are geared toward 2nd graders . 

Here are a few of the included activities:

• Matching games
• Creating compound words from root words
• Recognizing compound words from images
• Reading and writing
• Guessing games
• Creating a compound word book
• Kindergarten Compound Words Worksheet From K5 Learning

It’s never too early to start learning word structure to develop literacy skills for reading and writing . This cheerful compound word worksheet developed for early readers reinforces compound word recognition and writing skills.

• K-1 Colorful Compound Word Worksheets From Kids Activities

Bring compound words alive for children in K-1 with this colorful worksheet. In this fun activity, children look at the pictures, say the two words, and form the compound word. It also has lines for writing the word.

• Matching Fun With Compound Words From All Kids Network

Matching games build up enthusiasm in children, and this matching worksheet doesn’t disappoint. It presents simple root words that the children match up to create compound words. 

It develops critical thinking and writing skills, and improves concentration.

• Forming Compound Words Practice From Worksheets With Fun

If your students need extra practice forming and writing compound words, this worksheet is the one to try. It displays 30 root words that the students combine to create the compound words.

This worksheet reinforces how two words make a new compound word. The objective of the worksheet is to help students identify compound words and their roots.

Where Can I Find Engaging Compound Words Worksheets Online?

If you’re eager to get started with introducing compound word worksheets to your students, finding them online is the easiest way to go. The problem is knowing which worksheets provide engaging and informative compound word practice.

When searching online, you’ll see paid vs free worksheet options. Everyone loves taking advantage of free things, but some are worth paying for. This can be said of classroom worksheets.

It’s time-consuming searching for worksheets online, deciding on which ones are the appropriate grade level, and if they include the compound word practice you need for your class. 

Many times, free compound word worksheets don’t come close to providing engaging lessons for children. You might have to spend a lot of time finding ones that align with your teaching standards. 

On the other hand, most paid worksheets are high-quality lessons that captivate the interest of students. Educators who develop these worksheets spend a lot of time and effort incorporating fun instructional strategies that teach compound word fundamentals while engaging students .  

Teach Simple is dedicated to providing educators with the best teaching resources available online. For a reasonable monthly subscription fee, you receive access to a treasure chest of lesson plans, worksheets, bulletin boards, charts, and more.

The teaching materials at Teach Simple are created by experienced educators who understand how to provoke curiosity and enthusiasm in students.

Save time searching for a compound words worksheet by visiting Teach Simple and get unlimited access to high-quality teaching materials.

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Karen C holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education and has experience teaching in both middle and high schools.

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Compound Words Worksheets

Compound words worksheets practice.

A compound word is made up of two words that come together to make one new word. Compound words are used to simplify, shorten and clarify writing. They offer a more precise option for writers to shorten sentences and words. Compound words are an important part of the English language because they provide a more sophisticated option for writers to express themselves. There are many compound words in the English language. Combining two words into one word clarifies a student's writing. Our compound words worksheets can be used for a variety of grade levels.

Here is a graphic preview for all of the compound words worksheets. Our compound words worksheets are free to download and easy to access in PDF format. Use these compound words worksheets in school or at home.

a. Grades K-5 Compound Words Worksheets b. Grades 6-8 Compound Words Worksheets c. Grades 9-12 Compound Words Worksheets

Here is a graphic preview for all the kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade Compound Words Worksheets. Click on the image to display our compound words worksheets.

Compound Words List

Creating Compound Words Worksheets Part 1

Creating Compound Words Worksheets Part 2

Circling Compound Words Worksheet

Finding Compound Words Worksheet

Writing with Compound Words Worksheet

Identifying and Writing Compound Words Worksheet

Making Compound Words Worksheet

Sentences with Compound Words Worksheets

Separating Compound Words Worksheets

Grades 6-8 Compound Words Worksheets

Here is a graphic preview for all the 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grade Compound Words Worksheets. Click on the image to display our compound words worksheets.

Identifying Compound Words Worksheet

Writing Compound Words Worksheet

Learning Compound Words Worksheet

Creating Compound Words Worksheet

Compound Words in Context Worksheet

Making a Compound Word Worksheet

Practicing Compound Words Worksheets

Grades 9-12 Compound Words Worksheets

Here is a graphic preview for all the 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, and 12th grade Compound Words Worksheets. Click on the image to display our compound words worksheets.

Finding a Compound Word Worksheet

Writing a Compound Word Worksheet

Finding and Writing Compound Words Worksheet

Reading Foundation

Reading informational text, reading literature, speaking and listening, vocabulary development, ccss ela standards, ccss math standards, compound words worksheets.

Introduce elementary students to the concept of compound words with our interactive and printable Compound Words worksheets. These resources guide children through recognizing and using compound words in an engaging and accessible format, improving overall language comprehension.

2nd Grade Compound Words worksheets

3rd Grade Compound Words worksheets

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The Essential Guide to Teaching Compound Words

Compound words are formed when two smaller words combine to form a new word, as in these examples:

mail + box = mail box milk + shake = milk shake note + book = note book

The resources in this article can help you introduce compound words to your children and make them feel like superheroes for being able to read and spell such long words!

What Is a Compound Word?

Compound words can be lots of fun for young readers and spellers. And they are easier to tackle if we think of compound words as two smaller words that are combined to form a new word .

But there’s another important thing to consider when teaching compound words!

When deciding of a word is a compound, remember that the meaning of the compound word relates to the meanings of the two words that combine to form it. For example, a bathtub is a tub you take a bath in. A sandbox is a box you put sand in. An anthill is a hill made by ants , and so on.

Download This Free List of Compound Words

This big list of kid-friendly compound words will be a great resource as you work on this skill together.

Teach How to Look for the Two Smaller Words in the Compound Word

The easiest way to introduce compound words is with letter tiles . Choose a word such as bathtub from the resource list and build it with the tiles.

Explain to your child that the word bathtub has two smaller words in it, and invite him to find those two smaller words. Letter tiles are great for this activity because your child can separate the compound word into two words, like this:

Suddenly, longer words are no longer scary! See why I love letter tiles so much? You can practice this concept with fun words like sandbox , anthill , backpack , and windmill . This is a wonderful method for helping students visualize the words that form compound words.

Games and Activity Sheets for Compound Words

Hands-on games and activities make learning about compound words more fun! Here are three free printables that you can use with your child. The first two activities come from All About Reading Level 1 , and the third activity was designed for all reading levels.

“Bird Friends” Activity

Birds of a feather flock together … and in this fun reading activity, birds of a feather make compound words, too! Just have your child select two matching birds and place them side by side on the branch. Each pair of birds makes a compound word!

“Chop-Chop” Activity

Practice compound words with this fun (and safe!) chopping game! Just cut out the knife and the foods, then let your child “chop” each compound word between its two smaller words. Read each smaller word, and then read the compound word.

“Banana Splits” Game

Use compound words to build the yummiest banana split ever in this delicious multi-level reading game. Every player gets an ice cream bowl and a stack of candy covered scoops of ice cream to play with. And the best part? Students of different levels can play together!

Spelling Tips for Compound Words

When your child is spelling, it may not be obvious when to combine two words into one. This process is made more difficult by the fact that there are actually three kinds of compound words. There are closed compounds , which we have been discussing in this article so far. And then there are open compounds and hyphenated compounds .

If your child needs to spell the word ice cream , for example, there is no rule that will help her decide whether this is a closed or open compound word. She’ll just need to determine what “looks right,” and the only way to do that is to have seen it in writing before (preferably multiple times). The Practice Sheets in All About Reading and the Word Banks in All About Spelling are excellent tools to do just that.

Of course, reading word lists isn’t all that exciting. Reading a short story about a sassy cat, on the other hand, is a much more engaging way to practice reading compound words! Here’s the first story with compound words that beginning readers encounter in All About Reading Level 1.

Cobweb the Cat short story

In this story, young readers encounter fourteen different closed compound words, including bathtub , catfish , and sunset . All of these words are pre-taught through various activities, so even before reading the story, the child has already become familiar with them.

The more times your student sees compound words in print, the easier it will be for him to spell them. And that leads us to our final tip for teaching children to spell compound words…

Provide Oral “Hints” During Spelling Dictation

To increase your child’s awareness of compound words during spelling dictation , provide prompts such as “This next sentence has a compound word.” After your child sees closed compound words in print a number of times, he’ll begin to get a sense of when to combine two smaller words into one.

The bottom line when teaching compound words is practice, practice, practice! But make practice a joy by incorporating letter tiles , activity sheets, short reading selections, and spelling dictation “hints.”

What are your favorite ways to practice compound words? Let me know in the comments below!

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We did not cover all of the lessons in AAR Level 2. As a matter of fact, not even half. I sold it, so no longer have the teacher’s manual, student activities, etc. Last year, I happened to have printed the contraction lesson for Level 2. It was just discussed on Lesson 4 (?) of level 3. Where can I locate the Compound Words syllable division rule, please?

Julie, Do I understand correctly that you have All About Reading Level 3? You will find the Syllable Division Rule chart in the Teacher’s Manual Appendix E page 397. This chart was also in the Activity Book on pages 17 and 18 for easy removal and so you can hang it up for easy reference. The rule for dividing compound words is the first one on those charts. In addition, you will find a review of the rule for dividing compound words in Lesson 1 of All About Reading Level 3, on page 38.

However, if I misunderstand and you do not have All About Reading Level 3, or if you would like to print the Syllable Division Rules chart, you can find it in the online sample for the AAR 3 Teacher’s Manual .

If you need additional help for compound words, please let me know what the difficulty is.

This was great. We enjoyed Cobweb’s story

Thank you, Sophie!

Jan joscelyne

Thank you, Jan!

Joanie Burns

Thank you for this handy dandy list of compound words! I use AAS and AAR with my students, and I love them both!

You’re welcome, Joanie! I hope you find this list helpful.

Emmanuel Chukwuka Odo

Very good platform for teachers and learner’s.

Thank you, Emmanuel!

Shirley A Scruggs

Thank you, Shirley!

Laxman Rathod

Good technique for reading, this technique apply in my school

I hope you find this resource helpful for your school!

Fun and simple so interesting we highly appreciate

I’m glad you appreciate this. Thank you, Maria!

I had difficulty on how to teach spelling using compound words that are not affixes and your blog is wonderful/ Thank you so much.

I’m glad this was helpful for you, Aseesa!

Deb Johansen

Love this blog post and the list. Thanks so much for sharing!

Mr. Blamo M. Blamo Jr

Thanks for introducing the types of compound words to me. I really do appreciate. Hopping to learn more from you.

You’re welcome.

Great list! Thank you so much.

You’re welcome, Mohsen!

Areata Knight-Mitchell.

Thanks Marie . These methods came in very handy.

You’re welcome, Areata. It’s great to hear these are handy.

i have taught compound words many years but i absolutely love the terminology that you just gave me: open, closed, and hyphenated compounds!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks and excuse the lowercase typing please?

I’m glad this was helpful for you, Alice!

Love the list of compound words. This will help my daughter with her test later this week at school!

I’m glad this is helpful for your child, Nese!

Chidiebere chizobam

So interesting.an glad.

Such an excellent resource! Easy to use and makes learning fun. Thanks Elizabeth

Thank you, Elizabeth! I’m glad to hear this was easy to use and fun.

Elizabeth H.

What a great download!

Thank you, Elizabeth! Glad you like it!

LaVerne Traynham

I love the list of compound words!!

Thanks, LaVerne!

This program makes learning fun for kiddos (and I’ve learned some ‘rules’ too)!

Thank you, RKM!

Melanie Ray

Great info and resources! Thank-you!

Janine Zamora

My son loves all the fun activities that AAR has. It makes learning fun.

Great info! Thanks for the resources. Will definitely try it out.

You’re welcome, Elnita.

This makes it fun and engaging for the students! I love a multisensory approach to compound words: clapping each word and using a motion to represent the combination.

Thank you, Ammy. Multisensory learning is very effective.

Thank you for the great insights and resources!

Melanie O'Brien

We are currently using BJU’s reading, phonics, and language arts programs. Do you know if this will replace phonics and language arts (required in my state) or just reading? Thank you.

Great question, Melanie!

All About Reading will cover phonics and reading, as well as vocabulary and comprehension.

The term “Language Arts” is a sort of catch-all term that encompasses everything to do with English, from a preschooler learning the ABCs to high schoolers doing detailed written literary analysis and public speaking. I think you may find our blog post on the scope of Language Arts helpful.

With that in mind, All About Reading, with possibly a handwriting curriculum if needed, will cover “Language Arts” for young learners just beginning to read. Once students are well started in reading (after finishing Level 1 or the equivalent reading level), All About Reading with All About Spelling and possibly handwriting will cover Language Arts.

All About Spelling has a gradual progression for increasing the student’s stamina and fluency in writing that is very helpful for beginning writers. It starts with just words and short phrases in Level 1, bumps up to phrases and short sentences in Level 2, and progresses to 12 dictation sentences per step in Level 3. Partway through this level, the Writing Station is introduced. In this exercise, students write their own sentences that they make up using some of their spelling words.

At around Level 3 of All About Spelling, students are ready for writing and grammar curriculums. Once a student has mastered reading (after All About Reading Level 4), they are ready to delve into literature and a wide variety of genres.

I hope this helps. If you have questions or want help deciding what your child needs to be working on, let me know your child’s age and abilities in reading and spelling.

Thank you so much! I took a look at the placement test and ordered Level 1. From everything I have seen, I think this will work much better for us. Do you think the spelling should be started with reading level 1? Does it have to be done at the same time? My plan is to see how the reading goes before I order spelling. It also gives me a chance to save for the spelling.

Melanie, We generally recommend waiting to begin All About Spelling until the student has finished All About Reading level 1 or the equivalent reading level. We discuss this on our The Right Time to Start Spelling blog post.

Adila Nawaz

Coloring coding seems like a really neat idea to identify sounds.

Thank you, Adila!

Megan Santini

Wow- so many ideas and resources! Thanks!

You’re welcome, Megan!

Debbie Wright

Awesome website. thanks for the information

You’re welcome, Debbie! I’m glad you like it.

Jess Tomlin

Love this program

Thank you, Jess!

I love all the fun activities provided here!

Thanks for letting us know you appreciate the activities, Amber!

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Compound Words

Common compound words, choose two words to make a compound word that matches the given clue, match words that join together to make a compound word, complete the compound word by choosing the correct word.

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Compound Words Worksheets

Compound words are two or more root words combined together to form another word with an individual meaning., search for worksheets, download the compound words worksheets.

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Table of Contents

Compound words are two or more root words combined together to form another word with an individual meaning. Compound words have three forms: the closed compound, where words look like one word; the open compound, where the words are written separately; and the hyphenated compound, where the words are separated using a hyphen. Furthermore, compound words can also be classified as endoteric, exoteric, root, synthetic, and suspended.

See the fact file below for more information on Compound Words, or you can download our 25-page Compound Words worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Compound words and their linguistic background.

• Compound words are produced using the word formation process called compounding. 
• This word formation process is also called composition , which in Latin means “put together”
• The words that should be used in compounding should be free morphemes or a morpheme (a group of letters) that can stand as a word.
• These morphemes can be a noun, a verb, or an adjective.
• classroom (class + room)
• blackboard (black + board)
• pencil case (pencil + case)
• high school (high + school)
• long-term (long + term)
• in-campus  (in + campus)

FORMS OF COMPOUND WORDS

• Notice that the example compound words above are formed differently. This is because compound words have three forms: closed compound , open compound , and hyphenated compound . 
• Closed compound words are formed by combining two free morphemes or fully independent. 

basketball (basket + ball)

school house (school + house)

mailbox (mail + box)

• The words in the closed compound may not have been combined before, but over time and with the frequent use of these words, they have become standardized and have become accepted as one word.

FORMS OF COMPOUND WORDS 

real estate (real + estate)

post office (post + office)

jogging pants (jogging + pants)

• The last form of compound words is the hyphenated compound word which is formed when two words are joined together by a hyphen to form a new meaning.

two-fold (two + fold)

teacher-in-charge (teacher + in + charge)

up-to-date (up + to + date)

• Usually, hyphenated compound words are created and used to describe or form an adjective. Take note of the examples given: ‘two-fold’ is used to describe an increase or a rise in the number; teacher-in-charge is used to describe the job or task of the teacher; and up-to-date is used to describe something current such as information or payment.
• In some cases, these hyphenated compounds used as adjectives become open compounds when placed after the word they describe.

The full-time professor in this department is Mrs. Figg.

Professor Figg is full time . 

We need a long-term solution for this.

The solution that we need for this is long term .

In the sets of sentences given, the compounds ‘full-time’ and ‘long-term’ in the first sentence of each set of examples are hyphenated because they come before the word that they are describing (professor and solution). On the other hand, ‘full time’ and ‘long term’ became an open compound in the second sentence of each set of examples because they are written after the noun that they describe.

TYPES OF COMPOUNDS ACCORDING TO WORD STRUCTURE

• The first type of compound words is the root compound . This is also called the primary compound or an analytic compound. Root compound is made up of free morphemes and the semantic relationship between the words are not restricted.

toothpaste (tooth + paste) 

catfish (cat + fish)

notebook (note + book)

The examples above are combined using two nouns.

old school (old + school)

new moon (new + moon)

white collar (white + collar)

The examples above are combined using an adjective and a 

handshake (hand + shake)

haircut (hair + cut)

rainfall (rain + fall)

The examples above are combined using a noun and a 

verb. 

• The second type of compound is called the synthetic compound, which forms the compound word through compounding and derivation (a process where an affix or inflection is added to a word to form a new meaning).

handwriting (hand + writing)

dishwasher (dish + washer)

senior editor (senior + editor)

The words in the example below show the combination of 

a noun or an adjective and a derived verb. 

• The third type of compound words is the suspended compound . It is a set of compound nouns or compound adjectives. In this case, the element common to the words involved in compounding is not included anymore. 
• This type of compound is also called the suspensive hyphenation where a hyphen and a space follow the first element of a suspended compound.

pre- and post-test

first- and second-hand 

three- and four-year-old

In these examples, the similar element of each compound 

is not written anymore, but it is indicated through the 

hyphen and the space.

TYPES OF COMPOUNDS ACCORDING TO MEANING

• The first type of these compound words is the endocentric compound . In this type, the central meaning of the word is carried by the head. 

The students are already in the classroom .

-a room used to hold or conduct classes

The newspapers this morning were sold out.

-a type of paper which contains news

There book store is a bookstore near our house.

-a store that primarily sells books

In the examples given, the central meaning of the word is carried by the head word. These words are specified using their heponyms (a word that has a more specific meaning). 

• The second type of compound is the exocentric compound. These are compound words where the central meaning of the word is not carried by the head. 

I prefer reading the paperback version of that the e-book.

– it is a type of book that is paper-bound

People know that Kylie is a show-off .

– is a person that shows off 

The scarecrow was in the middle of the farm

-an object designed to scare birds

Notice that the head word in each example does not contain the central meaning of the word. Although some of the examples of exocentric compound words suggest the meaning of the word, it is still important to know the meaning of the word for accuracy.

Compound Word Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Compound Words across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Compound Word worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Compound Words, which are two or more root words combined together to form another word with an individual meaning.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

• Compound Words Facts
• True Compounds
• Proper Compounds
• Form the Compounds
• Complete the Compounds
• Compound Types Part I
• Compound Types Part II
• Extending Compounds
• Compounding in a Sentence
• Give Me More Compound
• Reflecting in Compounds

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Compound word activities.

This past week I had the pleasure of visiting my sister-in-law’s 2nd-grade class. I was so excited to get back into a classroom that I immediately started working on my lessons and activities. She asked me to introduce compound words to her students, so that is exactly what I did. Let me show you the compound word activities we did that day and some other things I’ve come up with for teaching compound words!

You can find all of the activities that I mention (and more) by clicking HERE !

1. Brainstorming and Identifying

First I wanted to gauge their knowledge of compound words. I gave each student a large sticky note. They numbered it from 1 – 5. I called out words and they wrote them as best as they could. I did not write the words on the board until after they finished because I did not want them just copying my words. 3 of the words were compound words and 2 were not. After making their list I had students look through the words to see if they could find any commonalities. We then discussed what compound words were and located those on our lists. Once we determined which words were compound words, we underlined the two words that were used to create the compound words. This was a quick and easy introduction!

2. Compound Word Chant

As soon as I had introduced compound words, I taught the class a compound word chant that I came up with. I created a video with the words, rhythm, etc and put it inside of THIS pack!

3. Interactive Anchor Chart

After learning what a compound word is, we brainstormed as many compound words as we could. As students were telling me compound word examples, I wrote them onto a sticky note. After we had a good amount, I gave each student a sticky note with a compound word. Their job was to underline the two words and illustrate the compound word. Once they were finished, they shared the compound word with the class and added it to our chart.

4. Compound Word Match

Next up we became compound word conductors! Our job was to build compound word trains. I gave each student a card. They had to silently walk around the room and join forces with the students that belonged in their train. For example, homework, home, and work had to locate one another and line up in the order to build the compound word train for homework. Once we all got matched up, each group shared their compound word with the class.

5. Compound Word Conductors

Sticking with the train theme, students created a compound word train. They chose a new word from our chart (not the one that they had previously worked with). Students created their train and illustrated their compound word. They loved this activity and the trains turned out so cute!

6. Compound Word Conductor Hats

I didn’t get around to making these compound word conductor hats with the class, but I sure wish I would have! For this hat, students show examples of two compound words. Just picture your kiddos wearing these hats while making the trains! CAH-UTE!

7. Digital Compound Word Activities

I like having a few digital activities on hand so that I can display them using the projector. These three digital activities are great for mini-lessons while introducing and reviewing compound words. They involve building, writing, and identifying compound words.

8. Compound Word Work-Mat FREEBIE

Another thing I like to have on hand is a work-mat. I pull these out for mini-lessons and small group activities. With this work-mat, students practice writing, identifying, and illustrating compound words. You can use the compound word cards that I included in the freebie along with the work-mat.

Grab it here!

Save for later.

Don’t want to forget about this freebie or the activity ideas? Save the image below to your Pinterest boards!

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Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.

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Compound words are language elemts, formed by combining two or more words to create a new meaning . In English, compound words can be found everywhere, from everyday conversations to complex academic texts. They come in different types, including closed compounds, hyphenated compounds, and open compounds. In this guide, we will explain the topic of compound words, their formation, and their role in effective communication.

Types of Compound Words: Open, Closed, or Hyphenated

Compound words are formed when two or more words are combined to create a new one with a different meaning. These come in three main types: closed, hyphenated, and open.

Closed Compound Words

These words are written as a single word without any spaces or hyphens. They often evolve from open compound words as they become more commonly used. For example, “ notebook ” (from “note” and “book”) and “ sunflower ” (from “sun” and “flower”) are closed compound words.

Other common examples:

• Firefighter

Hyphenated Compound Words

These words are connected by a hyphen, which helps to clarify their meaning and avoid confusion. Examples include “ mother-in-law ” (a mother related by marriage) and “ well-being ” (a state of health and happiness).

• Sister-in-law
• Editor-in-chief
• Father-in-law
• Merry-go-round

Open Compound Words

These words are written as separate words, but together they form a single concept. For example, “ ice cream ” (a frozen dessert) and “ high school ” (a secondary school for older students) are open compound words.

• Post office
• Real estate
• Science fiction
• Living room
• Coffee table
• High school
• Credit card
• Tennis court

Meaning and Usage in Context

The meaning of a compound word often relates to the meanings of the individual words, but it can also have its own unique sense and definition. For instance, a “goldfish” is a type of fish that is often gold in color. The context, or how the word is used, can also influence the formation of compound words. For example, “apple” and “pie” can combine to form “apple pie,” a dessert made with apples, but only in the context of food.

Do you make mistakes when using compound words? Try our Free Grammar Checker

Exercises on compound words.

After learning the basics, let’s try a few exercises to better remember the concept.

Exercise 1: Creating Compound Words

Combine the words in each pair to form a compound word. Write your answer in the space provided.

• tooth + paste = ____________
• class + room = ____________
• grand + mother = ____________
• foot + ball = ____________
• bed + room = ____________

Exercise 2: Classifying Compound Words

For each compound word, decide whether it should be written as a closed compound, a hyphenated compound, or an open compound.

• high/school = ____________
• mother/in/law = ____________
• tooth/brush = ____________
• well/being = ____________
• ice/cream = ____________
• check/in = ____________
• week/end = ____________
• long/term = ____________
• full/moon = ____________
• self/esteem = ____________
• high school
• mother in law
• self esteem

So, compound words are integral to the richness and versatility of language. They allow us to express complex ideas succinctly and add depth to our communication. As we continue use compound words, it’s important to appreciate the role they play in shaping our language. So, let’s pay attention to these linguistic building blocks and embrace the creativity they bring to our communication.

What are compound words?

Compound words are formed by combining two or more words to create a new word with a unique meaning. These words can be written as one word (closed compounds), with a hyphen (hyphenated compounds), or as separate words (open compounds). Examples include “notebook,” “mother-in-law,” and “ice cream.”

How are compound words formed?

Compound words are formed by joining two or more words together. The process involves taking words that can stand alone and combining them to create a new word with a different meaning. The way the words are combined can vary, resulting in closed, hyphenated, or open compound words.

How do compound words change meaning or form in different contexts?

Compound words can change meaning or form depending on the context in which they are used. For example, “check-in” as a noun is hyphenated, but as a verb, it is written as two separate words (“check in”). The meaning of such a word can also vary based on context, such as “school bus” (a bus for transporting students) versus “bus stop” (a place where a bus stops to pick up passengers).

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Compound Words Worksheets

Customize compound words worksheets.

If you're assigning this to your students, copy the worksheet to your account and save. When creating an assignment, just select it as a template!

Compound Words for Kids

Compound words are formed when two individual words are joined together to create a new word with its own unique meaning. Teaching young students about these words can strengthen their vocabulary, reading comprehension, and sentence construction abilities. Read on to discover why our templates are an excellent teaching tool.

What are Compound Words Worksheets?

They are activity sheets that allow learners to identify, build, break down, and utilize compound words. These educational worksheets typically feature various compound word-based exercises and games to engage kids and reinforce learning.

Worksheets on compound words contain varied exercises allowing kids to identify, break down, build, and apply them in context. These printable compound words worksheets feature matching games, fill-in-blanks, word banks, and more to actively engage children while improving comprehension.

Why Should I Use These Activities for Kids?

Integrating compound words exercises for kids delivers numerous benefits:

• Builds Vocabulary: As kids learn that combining words evolves language, their vocabulary grows exponentially. Recognizing compound words while reading supports decoding skills.
• Reinforces Reading: When students break these words into standalone words or vice versa, it directly strengthens reading fluency and comprehension.
• Enhances Writing: After gaining familiarity with diverse compound words from worksheets, students can correctly incorporate them into sentences and stories they write. This applies their knowledge into practice.
• Sparks Engagement: Interactive games, puzzles, matching exercises centered around compound words list for kids generates interest and enjoyment for learning.

Using The Worksheets

Here are key methods teachers can use printable compound words worksheets in lessons:

• Introductions: A compound words for kids worksheet featuring a list of compound words for kids enables teachers to initially explain the concept and how meaning changes when words combine.
• Reinforcing: Exercises focused on breaking down the words into standalone words or combining words to form compound words strengthens existing skills.
• Vocabulary Growth: As compound words printable worksheets expose students to more vocabulary words, their personal dictionaries grow.
• Reading Improvement: Identifying and decoding these words that appear while reading enhances overall reading abilities.
• Writing Enhancement: Using them correctly in sentences and stories develops strong language and writing capacities.
• Engagement: The interactive nature of compound words exercises for kids offers stimulation beyond conventional pen-and-paper practice.

Integrating Compound Words Worksheets

Follow this sequence to incorporate these worksheets into early education classrooms:

• Introduction: Launch by asking the class for examples of compound words they may already recognize like football, popcorn or pancake. Explain how joining two individual words forms a new word conveying a unique meaning.
• Comprehension Checks: Provide a compound words for kids worksheet then have students break them into individual words to determine implied meanings. Allow kids to combine random words from a bank to create their own.
• Matching Exercises: Download and print a worksheet with a list mixing individual words and related compound words. Have them draw lines matching standalone words to their corresponding compounds.
• Identification: Supply a diverse list of words. Have kids highlight or circle only the compound words within the provided list.
• Fill-in-Blanks: Create a paragraph with key compound words removed. Allow kids to fill these blanks with appropriate words from an accompanying word bank list.
• Sentence Creation: Once familiar with numerous examples, have kids create original sentences integrating diverse compound words.
• Creative Writing: Finally, let kids incorporate various compound words into their own short stories or passages.

The interactive nature of compound words exercises for kids keeps young students stimulated and engaged with language arts skills development. Start integrating printable compound words worksheets into your lesson plans today!

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From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!

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Frequently Asked Questions about Compound Words Worksheets

What is a compound word.

A compound word is formed by combining two freestanding words to create a new word conveying its own distinct meaning. Some examples are “football,” “popcorn,” and “pancake.”

Why are compound word worksheets useful?

They engage kids via interactive games and exercises focused on building, breaking down, and applying compound words. This strengthens vocabulary, reading skills, writing skills, and comprehension simultaneously.

What classroom skills do compound words build?

Working with compound words develops vocabulary as students realize how joining words evolves language. It enhances reading decoding, fluency, and comprehension. It also enables accurate application of compound words when writing sentences or stories.

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Compound words in sentences

Worksheets: find the compound words in sentences.

When two words are combined to create a word with a new meaning, a compound word is formed (e.g. car + port = carport). In these vocabulary worksheets, students identify compound words in sentences. 

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• Compound Words

Compound Words - Learn What They Are and How to Use Them with Examples

Have you ever wondered how you would construct a sentence if there were no words? Luckily, for us, we have languages that have a wide range of vocabulary. Among the languages of the world, the English language is one that has a good vocabulary range. In addition to the words in English, there are also words borrowed from other languages called loan words, and words that are formed by combining two different words to form compound words. In this article, you will be introduced to compound words, what they are, their meaning, definition, how to form compound words and how they can be used. Also, take a look at the examples given and the list of compound words to understand how they can be formed.

Table of Contents

What is a compound word – meaning and definition, open compound words, closed compound words, hyphenated compound words, points to remember when forming compound words, formation of compound words, list of commonly-used compound words in english, test your understanding of compound words, frequently asked questions on compound words in english.

A compound word, as the name suggests, is a combination of two or more root words. They are combined to form words which mean something different from what the individual words mean.

A compound word, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a noun , an adjective or a verb made of two or more words or parts of words, written as one or more words, or joined by a hyphen.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines a compound word as “two or more words linked together to produce a word with a new meaning.” A compound word is defined as “is one that is made up of two or more words”, according to the Collins Dictionary.

Types of Compound Words

Compound words can be formed in three different ways. They are:

• Open compound words
• Closed compound words
• Hyphenated compound words

Let us look at how each of these types of compound words are formed.

Open compound words are those that are formed by combining two or more words which can be written as separate words and still be used together as a compound word. Open compound words are mostly formed by combining an adjective and a noun to form a compound noun.

For example:

• Post office
• Living room
• High school

Closed compound words are those that are formed by combining two words but do not contain any space between them, unlike open compound words.

Hyphenated compound words, as the name suggests are words formed by combining two or more words with a hyphen placed between them. Hyphenated compound words mostly function as compound adjectives.

Have you tried merging two or more words that mean completely different things? If you do, you will find out that some interesting combinations work, mean something different from what their individual meanings are and make your language a lot more interesting and colourful. Now, there is something you should know. You cannot just combine any two words together to form a word. Make sure you make proper compound words and use them appropriately. Here are a few points you will have to bear in mind when forming and using compound words.

• Compound words can be said to be permanent compounds or temporary compounds. Permanent compound words are those that are already a part of the language; whereas, a temporary compound word is one that is formed to suit the writer’s or speaker’s requirement. For example, words like first aid, grandmother, lawsuit, blackboard, etc. are permanent compound words which already exist in the English language and words like red-headed, left-handed, bright-eyed, etc. are the kind of words that can be created to suit the requirement of the language user.
• To help you a little, here is something you can remember. In most cases, compound nouns are written as a closed compound word, a compound verb is written as an open compound word and a compound adjective is written as a hyphenated compound word. However, this is not a rule and is not always the case.
• As far as hyphenated compound words are concerned, they are hyphenated only if they are placed before the noun it modifies.

Compound words, as discussed earlier, are formed by combining two words, especially two parts of speech . Let us look at some combinations of parts of speech that form compound words.

Noun + Noun

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining two nouns.

• Police woman

Noun + Verb

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a noun and a verb.

Verb + Noun

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a verb and a noun.

Verb + Preposition

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a verb and a preposition .

Preposition + Verb

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a preposition and a verb.

• Underestimate

Noun + Adjective

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a noun and an adjective.

• Heartbroken

Adjective + Noun

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining an adjective and a noun.

• Last minute

Gerund + Noun

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a gerund and a noun.

• Washing machine
• Dining room
• Swimming pool
• Driving licence
• Breaking point
• Melting point
• Working day

Noun + Gerund

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a noun and a gerund.

• Sightseeing
• Mind-blowing
• Nerve-wrecking
• Nail-biting
• Brainstorming
• Mindmapping
• Air conditioning
• Time-consuming
• Bird watching

Preposition + Noun

Here is a list of compound words formed by combining a preposition and a noun.

• Undergraduate

Examples of Compound Words

Taking a look at a number of examples will definitely help you out. So here is a list of some of the most common compound words used in English.

Use the following words to form open, closed or hyphenated compound words.

Given below are the list of compound words formed by combining the given list of words.

1. Homesick

2.Hand-written

3. White-washed

4. Well-known

6. Half-sister

7. Flashcard

8. Right-handed

10. Broad-minded

What are compound words?

Compound words, as the name suggests, are a combination of two or more root words. They are combined to form words which mean something different from what the individual words mean.

What is the definition of a compound word?

A compound word, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a noun, an adjective or a verb made of two or more words or parts of words, written as one or more words, or joined by a hyphen.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines a compound word as “two or more words linked together to produce a word with a new meaning.” A compound word is defined as “is one that is made up of two or more words”, according to the Collins Dictionary.

What are the three types of compound words?

What is an open compound word.

Open compound words are those that are formed by combining two or more words which can be written as separate words and still be used together as a compound word. Open compound words are mostly formed by combining an adjective and a noun to form a compound noun. For example: First aid and post office

What is a closed compound word?

Closed compound words are those that are formed by combining two words but do not contain any space between them, unlike open compound words. For example: Bedroom and keyhole

What is a hyphenated compound word?

Hyphenated compound words, as the name suggests are words formed by combining two or more words with a hyphen placed between them. Hyphenated compound words mostly function as compound adjectives. For example: In-depth and snow-clad

Give some examples of compound words.

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Compound words are two or more words joined together in order to create a deeper meaning. They can be used as different parts of speech in a sentence and function in different ways depending on the meaning conveyed. Compound words are generally classified by their form: open, closed, and hyphenated. Open compounds are two separate words that create a new meaning, like hot dog or cell phone. Closed compounds occur when two words join to create one word with a new meaning, like bookstore or doghouse. Hyphenated compounds are two words joined with a hyphen, usually an adjective, like open-minded or sister-in-law.

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