How it works
Each free sheet draws 12 of 163 compound words as word sums: sun + flower = sunflower. One box in each sum is empty, sometimes the first word, sometimes the second, sometimes the whole compound.
Read the full guide
Two short words or longer words
Set picks Two short words, where both parts have four letters or fewer (cup + cake, rain + bow), or Longer words (grass + hopper, water + melon). All of them mixes the two.
Your own compound words
Type one sum a line: part + part = word, such as bed + time = bedtime. The two parts must spell the word exactly, and your lines replace ours.
- Some compounds drifted from their parts: a butterfly is not butter, and a cupboard holds more than cups.
Questions and answers
What is a compound word?
A word made of two whole words that keep their spelling: sun and flower make sunflower. Every word here is a closed compound, written as one word, not two (ice cream) or with a hyphen.
What grade learns compound words?
The Common Core language standards ask second graders to use the meanings of two words to predict the meaning of a compound word, such as birdhouse, lighthouse and bookshelf (L.2.4d).
Is there an answer key?
Yes. It prints as the last page unless you untick Add an answer key as the last page under More options. It fills every empty box of the sheet you print.