ESL Food Vocabulary Worksheets

Twelve fruit words, from apple to coconut, each to match to a plain meaning.

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Food wordsapplebananaorangegrapestrawberrylemonpearpeachcherrywatermelonpineapplecoconuta small smooth-skinned fruit;bunches of them hang on a vinea firm round fruit with red, greenor yellow skina fruit with sweet yellow fleshand a tough, spiky shella fruit like an apple that getsnarrow toward the stema round fruit with a sweet andsour taste; also a colora juicy fruit with a soft, fuzzy skinand a stone insidethe fruit of a palm: a hard shellwith white flesh insidea small fruit, often red, with onehard seed and a stema yellow fruit with very sour juicea sweet red fruit with tiny seedson the outsidea long curved fruit with smoothyellow skina melon that is green outside andred and watery inside
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Food wordsAnswer keyapplebananaorangegrapestrawberrylemonpearpeachcherrywatermelonpineapplecoconuta small smooth-skinned fruit;bunches of them hang on a vinea firm round fruit with red, greenor yellow skina fruit with sweet yellow fleshand a tough, spiky shella fruit like an apple that getsnarrow toward the stema round fruit with a sweet andsour taste; also a colora juicy fruit with a soft, fuzzy skinand a stone insidethe fruit of a palm: a hard shellwith white flesh insidea small fruit, often red, with onehard seed and a stema yellow fruit with very sour juicea sweet red fruit with tiny seedson the outsidea long curved fruit with smoothyellow skina melon that is green outside andred and watery inside
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All 48 words

Fruit 12

  • apple A firm round fruit with red, green or yellow skin. I eat an apple every day.
  • banana A long curved fruit with smooth yellow skin. The banana is not ripe yet.
  • cherry A small fruit, often red, with one hard seed and a stem. There is a cherry on top.
  • coconut The fruit of a palm: a hard shell with white flesh inside. The coconut is hard to open.
  • grape A small smooth-skinned fruit; bunches of them hang on a vine. He washed a bunch of grapes.
  • lemon A yellow fruit with very sour juice. She puts lemon in her tea.
  • orange A round fruit with a sweet and sour taste; also a color. This orange is very juicy.
  • peach A juicy fruit with a soft, fuzzy skin and a stone inside. I had a peach after lunch.
  • pear A fruit like an apple that gets narrow toward the stem. This pear is soft and sweet.
  • pineapple A fruit with sweet yellow flesh and a tough, spiky shell. The pineapple smells sweet.
  • strawberry A sweet red fruit with tiny seeds on the outside. I put a strawberry on the cake.
  • watermelon A melon that is green outside and red and watery inside. We cut the watermelon into pieces.
Show all 48 words (36 more)

Vegetables 12

  • bean A large seed, or the pod it grows in, eaten as a vegetable. We had rice and beans.
  • broccoli A green vegetable shaped like a small tree. I like broccoli with rice.
  • cabbage A vegetable grown for its head of tightly packed leaves. She made soup with cabbage.
  • carrot An orange root vegetable with a sweet taste. The rabbit eats a carrot.
  • celery A vegetable whose stalks are eaten; a relative of the carrot. He cut the celery into sticks.
  • cucumber A vegetable with a green skin and crisp white flesh. I like cucumber in my sandwich.
  • garlic A bulb with a strong smell and taste, much used in cooking. This sauce has a lot of garlic.
  • lettuce A plant with a head of leaves that are eaten raw in salads. She washed the lettuce.
  • onion A bulb vegetable; cutting one may bring tears to the eyes. He fried an onion in the pan.
  • pea A small green seed; several grow together inside one pod. A pea rolled off my plate.
  • potato A starchy vegetable; the thick underground part of a plant. I baked a potato for dinner.
  • tomato A fruit, red when ripe, used in cooking as a vegetable. I cut a tomato for the salad.

Meals and drinks 12

  • breakfast The morning meal, eaten before any other that day. I eat breakfast at seven.
  • cheese A food made from milk that has been thickened into a solid. I like cheese on bread.
  • coffee A drink made from the beans of a plant and hot water. She has a cup of coffee at work.
  • dinner The day's main meal, which many people eat in the evening. Dinner is ready.
  • hot chocolate A warm drink made of cocoa and milk or water. We drink hot chocolate on cold days.
  • juice A drink made from the liquid inside fruit. She has orange juice in the morning.
  • lunch A light meal eaten around noon. We have lunch at school.
  • rice The seeds of a kind of grass, cooked and eaten as food. We eat rice with vegetables.
  • sandwich Two pieces of bread with other food between them. I made a cheese sandwich.
  • soup A liquid food made by cooking meat or vegetables in water. The soup is hot.
  • tea A drink made by soaking dried leaves in hot water. He drinks tea in the afternoon.
  • water The clear liquid that falls as rain and fills rivers. I drink water with every meal.

Cooking words 12

  • bake To cook food, such as bread or cake, in an oven. We bake bread on Sundays.
  • boil To cook food in water so hot that it turns to steam. I boil an egg for breakfast.
  • chop To cut food into pieces with quick, hard strokes. I chop the carrots for the soup.
  • cook To get food ready for eating, most often by heating it. I cook dinner on Fridays.
  • fry To cook food in hot fat or oil. He fries onions in a pan.
  • mix To combine two or more foods into one. She mixes flour and sugar in a bowl.
  • peel To take the skin off a fruit or a vegetable. She peels a potato.
  • pour To make a liquid flow out of a container. He pours milk into a glass.
  • serve To bring food or drink to someone at the table. We serve the salad first.
  • slice To cut food into thin, flat pieces. He slices the bread.
  • stir To move a spoon in circles through a liquid or soft food. I stir the soup while it cooks.
  • taste To put a little food in your mouth to learn its flavor. I taste the sauce before I add salt.

How this list was compiled: Word list chosen for this site on 2026-10-09. Each meaning is written in our own words, with common words a beginner knows, and was checked that day against the entry for the word in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ followed by the word), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Five meanings also rest on the English Wikipedia articles read that day: Lemon (sour juice), Strawberry (the seeds on the outside), Onion (tears when cut), Pea (several seeds in a pod) and Cabbage (a head of densely packed leaves), at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by the title. The example sentence after each meaning is our own. Licence: own work

How it works

These ESL food vocabulary worksheets start with fruit: twelve words on the left, twelve meanings in mixed order on the right. Vegetables, meals and drinks, and cooking words each make another sheet.

Read the full guide

What is in each set

Fruit runs from apple to coconut. Vegetables has carrot, potato, onion, lettuce, garlic and seven more. Meals and drinks has breakfast, lunch and dinner, then sandwich, rice, cheese and soup, then water, juice, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

Cooking words: twelve verbs

The last set is actions, so every meaning starts with to. Near pairs sit side by side: to chop is to cut food into pieces with quick, hard strokes, and to slice is to cut it into thin, flat pieces. Boil and fry, mix and stir, pour and serve are there too.

Questions and answers

What food vocabulary do ESL beginners need?

The names of common fruit and vegetables, the three meals, a few drinks, and verbs for the kitchen such as cook, bake and pour. The four sets here go in that order. The choice of words is our own.

Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

It is the fruit of the tomato plant, and in cooking it is treated as a vegetable. That is how the dictionary entry puts it, so the sheet keeps tomato with the vegetables.

What is the difference between lunch and dinner?

Lunch is a light meal eaten around noon. Dinner is the day's main meal, which many people eat in the evening. Breakfast, the morning meal, comes before both.

Can I save the food vocabulary worksheet as a PDF?

Yes. Press Print worksheet, then choose Save as PDF in your browser's print window. The file holds the sheet and, as its last page, the answer key.

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