Compound Words Worksheets - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to solve this worksheet.

We are making compound words — that means we take the word given (like “apple”) and add another word to it to make a new word (like “apple pie” or “applesauce”). But in this case, we’re adding just one word to complete each compound word. The blank is at the end of each line, so we need to find a word that goes *after* the given word to form a real compound word.

Let’s look at the examples first:
- somewhere → “some” + “where”
- basketball → “basket” + “ball”
- eyelash → “eye” + “lash”

So for each row, we’ll pick a common second word that makes sense with the first word.

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Now let’s fill in each blank:

a.
- apple → applepie (or applesauce, but “pie” is more common)
- any → anyone (or anything, but “one” fits well)
- ant → anthill (common compound word)

b.
- bird → birdhouse
- baby → babysit (or babyfood, but “sit” is a verb form; actually, “baby sitter” is two words — better: babydoll? Wait — “babysit” is one word! Yes.)
Actually, let’s stick to solid compound nouns:
→ birdcage? Or birdseed? Let’s use birdhouse — very common.
→ babycarriage? Too long. Babyblanket? Maybe. Actually, “babysitter” is often written as one word now — but let’s use babydoll if needed. Hmm — perhaps babyface? No — let’s go with babysit as a verb compound? Wait — the example uses nouns. Better: baby carriage is two words. Let’s think again.

Wait — maybe the worksheet expects simple, common compounds. Let me check standard ones:

Actually, let’s use:
- bird → birdnest
- baby → babybuggy (British) or babystroller — too long. How about babytalk? Not great.

Alternative approach: Use the most obvious, commonly taught compound words in elementary school.

Let me revise:

a.
- apple → applepie
- any → anything
- ant → antfarm (also common) or anthill

I’ll go with:
→ applepie
→ anything
→ anthill

b.
- bird → birdhouse
- baby → babysitter (often written as one word now) — yes, accepted.
- butter → butterfly

Yes! That works.

c.
- cow → cowboy
- clock → clockwise? Or clocktower? Clockwork? Let’s do clockwise — it’s one word.
But “cowboy” is noun, “clockwise” is adverb/adjective. Maybe clocktower? Two words sometimes. Best: clockwork — like “wind-up clockwork”.

Actually, let’s use:
→ cowmilk? No — cowboy is best.
→ clockradio? Possible. But let’s go with clockwise — it’s a standard compound.
→ cup → cupcake

Perfect.

d.
- door → doorbell
- day → daydream
- dish → dishwasher

All good.

e.
- egg → eggplant? Wait — eggplant is one word, but it’s not “egg” + “plant” logically — it’s a vegetable name. Better: eggshell
- every → everyone
- eye → eyeball

Yes.

f.
- finger → fingerprint
- fire → fireplace
- foot → football

Great.

g.
- gold → goldfish
- good → goodbye
- grand → grandfather

Perfect.

h.
- ham → hamburger
- home → homework
- head → headache

Yes.

i.
- ice → icecream
- inch → inchworm
- in → inside? But “in” is short — maybe inlet? Or input? For kids, inside is two words. Wait — “in” + what? “Ink”? No. “In” can be part of “inbox”, “inlaw”, etc. But simplest: insect? No — that’s not “in” + “sect”. Actually, “in” as prefix: indoor? But that’s “in” + “door”. Yes! indoor is a compound word.

Alternatively, inlet — small body of water. Or input. Let’s go with indoor — very common.

But wait — the example has “somewhere”, which is “some” + “where”. So “in” + “side” = “inside” — but “inside” is one word! Yes! So:

→ icecream
→ inchworm
→ inside

Perfect.

j.
- jelly → jellyfish
- keep → keepsafe? Not really. Keeper? Like goalkeeper? But “keeper” alone isn’t compound. Wait — “keep” + what? “Keep” is usually not the first part. Unless… “keepsake”? Yes! Keepsake is one word: keep + sake.

Or “keep” + “fit”? Two words. Better: keepsake

- key → keyboard

Yes.

k.
- key → already did above? Wait, no — j is jelly, keep, key? Wait, looking back:

Wait, the rows are labeled a through l.

Row j: jelly, keep, key? No — let's check original:

Original:

j. jelly _______
keep _______
key _______

Wait no — looking back at user input:

Actually, in the original:

After i. comes:

j. jelly _______
keep _______
key _______

No — wait, let me re-read the original structure from the user’s text:

From user:

```
j. jelly _______________ keep _______________ key _______________
k. lamp _______________ light _______________ life _______________
```

Wait — I think I miscounted.

Looking back:

The user wrote:

```
a. apple ... any ... ant
b. bird ... baby ... butter
c. cow ... clock ... cup
d. door ... day ... dish
e. egg ... every ... eye
f. finger ... fire ... foot
g. gold ... good ... grand
h. ham ... home ... head
i. ice ... inch ... in
j. jelly ... keep ... key
k. lamp ... light ... life
```

Wait — there’s also an “l.”? User said up to l.

In initial problem:

User wrote:

“l. lamp _______________ light _______________ life _______________”

And before that k.? Let me see:

Actually, in the very first message, it says:

```
j. jelly _______________ keep _______________ key _______________
k. lamp _______________ light _______________ life _______________
```

Wait — no, in the original post:

It says:

```
j. jelly _______________ keep _______________ key _______________
k. lamp _______________ light _______________ life _______________
```

But then it says “l.”? Let me scroll up.

Actually, in the user’s input:

After “i.” it says:

“j. jelly _______________ keep _______________ key _______________”

Then “k. lamp _______________ light _______________ life _______________”

And that’s it? But earlier it said “up to l.” — wait, no, in the list:

Looking carefully:

The user wrote:

```
a. ...
b. ...
...
i. ...
j. jelly ... keep ... key
k. lamp ... light ... life
```

And that’s 11 rows? a to k is 11, but usually a-l is 12. Wait — in the initial description, it might have been cut off.

But in the text provided, after “i.” it’s “j.” then “k.” — and “k.” has lamp, light, life.

But in my earlier count, I had “key” under j, and “lamp” under k.

So let’s correct:

For j.:
- jelly → jellyfish
- keep → keepsake (as discussed)
- key → keyhole (or keyboard, but keyhole is good)

For k.:
- lamp → lamppost
- light → lighthouse
- life → lifeguard

Perfect.

Now, let’s compile all answers neatly.

Final decision for each:

a. applepie, anything, anthill
b. birdhouse, babysitter, butterfly
c. cowboy, clockwise, cupcake
d. doorbell, daydream, dishwasher
e. eggshell, everyone, eyeball
f. fingerprint, fireplace, football
g. goldfish, goodbye, grandfather
h. hamburger, homework, headache
i. icecream, inchworm, inside
j. jellyfish, keepsake, keyhole
k. lamppost, lighthouse, lifeguard

Wait — in row j, “keep” — is “keepsake” too advanced? Maybe “keeper”? But “keeper” isn’t clearly compound. Another option: “keep” + “fit” — but two words. Or “keep” + “calm”? No. Perhaps the intended answer is “keeper” as in “goalkeeper”, but that’s specific. Alternatively, maybe “keep” is meant to be “keep” + “out” → “keepout”? Not standard. I think “keepsake” is acceptable.

Another possibility: “keep” + “safe” → “keepsafe”? Not a word. I’ll stick with keepsake.

Similarly, for “key” in j: keyboard is very common — maybe better than keyhole. Let’s use keyboard for familiarity.

Adjusting:

j. jellyfish, keepsake, keyboard

But “keyboard” is one word — yes.

Now, double-checking all:

All seem to be valid compound words.

One more: in c, “clockwise” — is that considered a compound word? Yes, it’s formed from “clock” + “wise”.

Similarly, “cupcake” — definitely.

Okay, ready to write final answer.

──────────────────────────────────────

Final Answer:
a. pie, thing, hill
b. house, sitter, fly
c. boy, wise, cake
d. bell, dream, washer
e. shell, one, ball
f. print, place, ball
g. fish, bye, father
h. burger, work, ache
i. cream, worm, side
j. fish, sake, board
k. post, house, guard