Compound Words Activity Sheet

As a teacher I do a lot of lessons that include compound words so I need a lot of activity sheets. I compiled the following worksheets for my English as a Second Language Middle School class.

This is a quiz I have given to my students:

Directions: Break the compound words into two words.
1. understood =
2. applesauce =
3. newspaper =
4. waterfall =
5. cowboy =
6. shoelace =
7. overcoat =
8. blackberry =
9. bodyguard =
10. oatmeal =

Directions: Write a compound word for each definition.
11. a person who puts out fires is called a? (a fireman)
12. something you see after it rains is called a? (rainbow)
13. a sport you play with a bat and a ball is called a? (baseball)
14. a place where you learn is called a? (classroom)
15. a box to hold your lunch is a called a? (lunchbox)
16. a board to write on in class is called a? (blackboard)
17. a box full of sand is called a? (sandbox)
18. a paper you read the news from is called a? (newspaper)
19. a breakfast cereal you eat is called? (oatmeal)
20. a house a bird lives in is called a? (birdhouse)

Another quiz I have given my students:

Directions: Fill in the second half of the compound word.
1. fire_______(man)
2. him______(self)
3. pass_____(port)
4. home_____(work)
5. class______(room)
6. some_____(one)
7. out______(side)
8. down_____(stairs)
9. champion_____(ship)
10. some______(thing)
11. Mary______(land)
12. foot______(ball)
13. break_____(fast)
14. snow_____(ball)
15. any______(one)
16. every_____(thing)
17. after_____(noon)
18. basket_____(ball)
19. mean_____(while)
20. under_____(stand)
21. it______(self)
22. mid_____(night)
23. nick_____(name)
24. wind_____(mill)
25. lip_____(stick)
26. police_____(man)
27. down______(stairs)
28. master______(mind)
29. grand______(son)
30. bob______(cat)

Bonus +5 points:
What is a compound word?

1. some_______(where)
2. with _______(out)
3. grand_______(daughter)
4. under______(stand)
5. him_____(self)
6. mean______(while)
7. some______(one)
8. home ______(work)
9. air_____(plane)
10. pass______(port)
11. birth____(day)
12. your_____(self)
13. school____(bus)
14. harm_____(less)
15. sun _____(shine)

There are a lot of activities that can be done with compound words. It is one of my favorite topics to cover. Another activity that you can include with your lessons would be making a collage. Have the students search for compound words in old newspapers and magazines. For example, football. They can find a picture of a foot and a picture of a ball to form the word football. For a higher level instead of or in addition to the pictures you can search for the word foot and the word ball. This will be a little more difficult but more rewarding. The students can create a beautiful collage to be displayed in your classroom or in the halls. They can take it even one step further and create sentences using the compound words. For example, the boy likes to play football with his dad on Sundays.