Compound words worksheet for elementary students to practice forming compound words by combining two simple words.

Explanation:
We need to make compound words by joining two short words. A compound word is when two words combine to make a new word with a new meaning.

First part: Fill in the blanks using the examples.

Given:
- lamp + post = lamppost
- her + self = herself
- milk + man = milkman
- hand + bag = handbag
- foot + stool = footstool

Now, match the word pairs on the left with the correct compound words on the right.

Left column:
foot, cat, play, bag
her, cake, school, man
pot, ball, post, spoon
pan, self, tea, ground

We need to pair them to make real compound words.

Let’s go one by one:

1. foot → common compounds: *footstool*, *football*, *footpath* — but “stool” is already used above. In the list, “stool” isn’t in the right column here, but “ball” is. So foot + ball = football ✔

2. her → we already saw *herself*. And “self” is in the list. So her + self = herself ✔

3. pot → common: *potato*, *potbellied*, but better: pot + pan = potpan? No — not standard. Wait — actually, *teapot* is common, but “tea” is in the list. So maybe tea + pot? But order matters — usually the first word modifies the second. *Teapot* = tea + pot. So if we have “pot” and “tea”, we need to check pairing. Let’s hold and look at others.

4. pan → *pancake*? Yes! pan + cake = pancake ✔ (cake is in the list)

So:
- pan + cake = pancake
- her + self = herself
- foot + ball = football

Now remaining left words: cat, play, bag, school, man, post, spoon, ground
Right-side options (we haven’t used yet): play, bag, school, man, post, spoon, tea, ground — but these are the *second parts*, not the full list. Actually, the instruction says: “Draw lines to join five of these compound words.” And there are 4 rows × 4 = 16 words total, to be paired into 8 possible compounds — but we only need 5 correct ones.

Let’s list all plausible compound words from the given words:

Words available:
First group (left side of pairs): foot, her, pot, pan
Second group (right side): cat, cake, ball, self, play, school, man, post, bag, spoon, tea, ground
Wait — actually, looking again: the grid is 4 rows, each with 4 words:

Row 1: foot, cat, play, bag
Row 2: her, cake, school, man
Row 3: pot, ball, post, spoon
Row 4: pan, self, tea, ground

We are to draw lines between two words (one from anywhere?) to make compound words. Usually in such worksheets, you match across — but the instruction says: “Draw lines to join five of these compound words.” So pick 5 valid compound words formed by joining any two of these words (order matters — first + second).

Let’s generate valid compounds using only these words:

1. football = foot + ball ✔ (foot and ball both present)
2. herself = her + self ✔
3. pancake = pan + cake ✔
4. playground = play + ground ✔ (play and ground present)
5. teapot = tea + pot ✔ (tea and pot present)
6. schoolbag = school + bag ✔
7. postman = post + man ✔
8. spoonful? No “ful” not listed.
9. catapult? No.
10. baggage? No.

So many valid ones! We only need five.

The worksheet likely expects common ones taught at this level.

From the example style (lamppost, herself, milkman, handbag, footstool), they use straightforward noun+noun or pronoun+self.

Best 5:
- football (foot + ball)
- herself (her + self)
- pancake (pan + cake)
- playground (play + ground)
- postman (post + man)

Check all words used are in the grid:
- foot ✔, ball ✔
- her ✔, self ✔
- pan ✔, cake ✔
- play ✔, ground ✔
- post ✔, man ✔

Yes — all exist in the 4×4 grid.

Now the last part: “Now write a list of the compound words that you joined above.” So we list those 5.

Final Answer should be the 5 compound words.

Final Answer:
football, herself, pancake, playground, postman