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 with a new meaning (like “apple pie” or “applesauce”).

The instructions say:
→ Fill in each blank line with a word to make a compound word.
→ Use a dictionary if you need help.
→ Double-check your answer to be sure it’s really a compound word.

Also, look at the examples:
- somewhere → “some” + “where”
- basketball → “basket” + “ball”
- eyelash → “eye” + “lash”

So for each row, we have three starting words, and we need to think of one word that can combine with each of them to make real compound words.

Wait — actually, looking again… Each letter (a, b, c...) has THREE separate words, and each has its own blank. So for example:

a. apple ______
any ______
ant ______

That means we’re not looking for ONE word that fits all three — we’re filling in each blank separately to make three different compound words.

Got it! Let’s do each one carefully.

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a.
- apple → common compound: apple pie, applesauce, apple tree → let’s pick pie (simple and common)
- any → anyone, anything, anyway → let’s pick one
- ant → ant farm, ant hill, ant eater → let’s pick hill

✔ Check: apple pie, anyone, anthill — all real compound words.

---

b.
- bird → birdhouse, birdcage, birdwatching → pick house
- baby → baby sitter, baby food, baby shower → pick sitter
- butter → butterfly, buttercup, buttermilk → pick fly

✔ birdhouse, babysitter, butterfly — all good.

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c.
- cow → cowboy, cowgirl, cowbell → pick boy
- clock → clockwise, clockwork, alarm clock → pick work (clockwork is one word)
- cup → cupcake, teacup, cupboard → pick cake

✔ cowboy, clockwork, cupcake — yes!

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d.
- door → doorbell, doorknob, doorstep → pick bell
- day → daylight, 'daydream', 'today' → pick 'light'
- dish → 'dishwasher', 'dish soap', 'sandwich' → pick 'washer'

✔ doorbell, daylight, dishwasher — perfect.

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e.
- egg → 'eggplant', 'eggshell', 'scrambled eggs' → pick 'plant' (eggplant is one word)
- every → 'everyone', 'everyday', 'everything' → pick 'one'
- eye → 'eyeball', 'eyelash', 'eyeglasses' → pick 'ball'

✔ eggplant, everyone, eyeball — correct.

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f.
- finger → 'fingerprint', 'finger nail', 'thimble' → pick 'print'
- fire → 'fireplace', 'firefighter', 'campfire' → pick 'place'
- foot → 'football', 'footprint', 'barefoot' → pick 'ball'

✔ fingerprint, fireplace, football — great.

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g.
- gold → 'goldfish', 'gold medal', 'rainbow' → pick 'fish'
- good → 'goodbye', 'goodness', 'goodwill' → pick 'bye'
- grand → 'grandma', 'grandpa', 'grandson' → pick 'ma'

✔ goldfish, goodbye, grandma — all compound words.

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h.
- ham → 'hamburger', 'ham sandwich', 'hamster' → pick 'burger'
- home → 'homework', 'homeless', 'homepage' → pick 'work'
- head → 'headache', 'headline', 'bedhead' → pick 'ache'

✔ hamburger, homework, headache — yes!

---

i.
- ice → 'ice cream', 'ice cube', 'icicle' → pick 'cream'
- inch → 'inchworm', 'square inch' → pick 'worm'
- in → 'inside', 'income', 'inlet' → pick 'side'

✔ ice cream, inchworm, inside — all good.

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j.
- jelly → 'jellyfish', 'jellybean', 'peanut butter and jelly' → pick 'fish'
- (only two? Wait — j only has two? Looking back…)

Actually, looking at original:

j. jelly ______
keep ______
(wait — no third? Let me check image description again…)

In user input:

j. jelly ______
keep ______
(no third listed? But k starts after…)

Wait — in the text provided:

> j. jelly _______________
> keep _______________
> k. key _______________

Hmm — maybe typo? Or perhaps “keep” is under j? Actually, looking again:

Original list:

j. jelly _______________
keep _______________
k. key _______________

It seems like “keep” might be meant to be under j? Or maybe it's a formatting error.

But in standard worksheets, each letter usually has 3 items. Let me recheck the user’s text:

User wrote:

> j. jelly _______________
> keep _______________
> k. key _______________

Ah — probably “keep” is part of j? That would make sense — so j has two: jelly and keep? But then k has key, lamp, light, life? No — wait:

Looking further:

> k. key _______________
> l. lamp _______________
> light _______________
> life _______________

Oh! I see — the letters go a through l, and some have 3, some have 2? Let’s count:

From user input:

a: 3
b: 3
c: 3
d: 3
e: 3
f: 3
g: 3
h: 3
i: 3
j: 2? (jelly, keep)
k: 1? (key)
l: 3? (lamp, light, life)

That doesn’t match. Probably formatting issue.

Looking again at original problem as typed by user:

> j. jelly _______________
> keep _______________
> k. key _______________
> l. lamp _______________
> light _______________
> life _______________

I think “keep” belongs to j, and k has only “key”, and l has three. But that’s uneven.

Alternatively — maybe “keep” is under k? Let me assume based on common patterns.

Actually, in many such worksheets, each row has 3. Perhaps “keep” is under k? But user wrote:

“j. jelly ______
keep ______
k. key ______”

This suggests j has two entries? Unlikely.

Another possibility: typo in user input. Maybe it should be:

j. jelly ______
jump ______
just ______
—but no.

To resolve: let’s treat “keep” as belonging to j, and k has “key”, and l has three. We’ll proceed.

So:

j.
- jelly → ‘jellyfish’ → fish
- keep → ‘keeper’, ‘keepsake’, ‘housekeeper’ → let’s pick ‘sake’ (keepsake)

✔ jellyfish, keepsake

k.
- key → ‘keyboard’, ‘keychain’, ‘monkey’ → pick ‘board’

✔ keyboard

l.
- lamp → ‘lamppost’, ‘streetlamp’ → pick ‘post’
- light → ‘lightning’, ‘flashlight’, ‘sunlight’ → pick ‘ning’? Wait — lightning is one word, but “light” + “ning”? Not really. Better: ‘flashlight’ → flash; or ‘sunlight’ → sun. Let’s pick ‘sun’
- life → ‘lifestyle’, ‘lifeguard’, ‘wildlife’ → pick ‘style’

✔ lamppost, sunlight, lifestyle

But “sunlight” is sun + light — yes. “lifestyle” is life + style — yes.

Alternatively, for “light”, we could use ‘bulb’? Lightbulb — yes! Even better.

So revise l:

- lamp → post (lamppost)
- light → bulb (lightbulb)
- life → guard (lifeguard) — also very common

✔ lamppost, lightbulb, lifeguard — excellent choices.

Now let’s compile all answers neatly.

Final Answers per line:

a. apple pie, any one, ant hill
b. bird house, baby sitter, butter fly
c. cow boy, clock work, cup cake
d. door bell, day light, dish washer
e. egg plant, every one, eye ball
f. finger print, fire place, foot ball
g. gold fish, good bye, grand ma
h. ham burger, home work, head ache
i. ice cream, inch worm, in side
j. jelly fish, keep sake
k. key board
l. lamp post, light bulb, life guard

Note: For j and k, since there were fewer items, we filled what was given.

All these are valid compound words.

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