What is a compound word?
A compound word is two or more words linked together to produce a new word with a new meaning.
For example, the two root words play: an activity engaged in for enjoyment, and ground: the solid surface of the earth, when combined become playground: an outdoor area provided for children to play in.
Three types of compound words
There are three types of compound words: open, closed and hyphenated.
Open compound words have spaces in between the words, which make them hard to identify. These compound words always act like single words, and they always appear together and in the same order.
For example:
We had cotton candy at the park.
Kayaking is perfectly safe as long as you use some common sense.
Closed compound words are easier to identify. There are no spaces between the root words, so the compound word looks like a single word.
For example:
My sister is babysitting our cousins tonight.
I write my recipes in a notebook.
Hyphenated compound words have hyphens between the words. Students can struggle with these words as they confuse open and hyphenated compound words.
For example:
Mr. Singh is the editor-in-chief of our local newspaper.
The children like to ride the merry-go-round at the Christmas fair.
Closed compound words worksheets
We’ve created several worksheets to help kids practice closed compound words at the appropriate grade levels.
Matching compound words for kindergarten
As early as kindergarten, students start to practice compound words. These worksheets ask them to draw lines from root words to create compound words.
Write compound words for grade 1 and 2
Students use picture clues to write compound words in these worksheets.
Similarly, these worksheets have students practice compound words at the grade 2 level.
Identify compound words for grade 4
These multiple-choice worksheets have students identify the compound words.
