Opposites Worksheets for Kindergarten

All 72 pairs

Set 1: size and feel 12

big The opposite of big is small.
clean The opposite of clean is dirty.
fast The opposite of fast is slow.
heavy The opposite of heavy is light.
hot The opposite of hot is cold.
long The opposite of long is short.
loud The opposite of loud is quiet.
rough The opposite of rough is smooth.
strong The opposite of strong is weak.
thick The opposite of thick is thin.
tight The opposite of tight is loose.
wet The opposite of wet is dry.

Set 2: where and which way 12

east The opposite of east is west.
front The opposite of front is back.
high The opposite of high is low.
in The opposite of in is out.
left The opposite of left is right.
near The opposite of near is far.
north The opposite of north is south.
on The opposite of on is off.
over The opposite of over is under.
together The opposite of together is apart.
top The opposite of top is bottom.
up The opposite of up is down.

Show all 72 pairs (48 more)

Set 3: doing words 12

build The opposite of build is destroy.
buy The opposite of buy is sell.
come The opposite of come is go.
give The opposite of give is take.
laugh The opposite of laugh is cry.
open The opposite of open is close.
push The opposite of push is pull.
remember The opposite of remember is forget.
show The opposite of show is hide.
start The opposite of start is finish.
teach The opposite of teach is learn.
win The opposite of win is lose.

Set 4: people and feelings 12

adult The opposite of adult is child.
awake The opposite of awake is asleep.
brave The opposite of brave is cowardly.
calm The opposite of calm is nervous.
friend The opposite of friend is enemy.
good The opposite of good is bad.
happy The opposite of happy is sad.
honest The opposite of honest is dishonest.
polite The opposite of polite is rude.
proud The opposite of proud is ashamed.
wise The opposite of wise is foolish.
young The opposite of young is old.

Set 5: time and amount 12

add The opposite of add is subtract.
always The opposite of always is never.
before The opposite of before is after.
day The opposite of day is night.
early The opposite of early is late.
full The opposite of full is empty.
many The opposite of many is few.
more The opposite of more is less.
odd The opposite of odd is even.
sunrise The opposite of sunrise is sunset.
winter The opposite of winter is summer.
yesterday The opposite of yesterday is tomorrow.

Set 6: harder pairs 12

absent The opposite of absent is present.
accept The opposite of accept is reject.
ancient The opposite of ancient is modern.
borrow The opposite of borrow is lend.
entrance The opposite of entrance is exit.
include The opposite of include is exclude.
increase The opposite of increase is decrease.
maximum The opposite of maximum is minimum.
rare The opposite of rare is common.
shallow The opposite of shallow is deep.
temporary The opposite of temporary is permanent.
victory The opposite of victory is defeat.

How this list was compiled: Pairs of opposites chosen and ordered for this site on 2 October 2026: 72 pairs of everyday words in six sets of twelve, from size and feel words for kindergarten to harder pairs for grades 2 and 3. Every pair was checked against the antonyms listed in the two words' entries in the English Wiktionary, en.wiktionary.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2 October 2026: in 59 pairs each word's entry names the other as its antonym, and in 13 pairs one of the two entries does. No word is used twice, and pairs whose words a reader could join another way (hard and soft beside loud and quiet, tall and short beside high and low, above and below beside over and under, begin and end beside start and finish) were left out, so that each word has one clear partner on any sheet. No published word list or worksheet was copied. Licence: own work

How it works

Each sheet prints eight words down the left and their opposites, mixed up, down the right. Children draw a line from each word to its opposite: wet to dry, fast to slow.

Read the full guide

Opposite words for kindergarten worksheets, set by set

Six lists sit under Set. Set 1 is size and feel (big, small), Set 2 where and which way (up, down), Set 3 doing words (open, close), Set 4 people and feelings (happy, sad) and Set 5 time and amount (day, night). Set 6 has harder pairs for grades 2 and 3, such as ancient and modern.

A pencil line or cut and paste

Under Answer by, Pencil only gives two columns for the child to join. Cut and paste turns the right column into tiles: the child cuts out each opposite and glues it in the box beside its word.

All of them mixes the six sets; the pairs were chosen so that each word still has one clear partner.

Questions and answers

Do the opposites worksheets come with an answer key?

Yes. Its last page is the key: the same sheet with a line drawn from each word to its opposite. Uncheck Add an answer key as the last page under More options to print the sheet alone.

Is an opposite the same as an antonym?

Yes. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another, so hot and cold are antonyms. The Common Core asks kindergartners to relate common verbs and adjectives to their opposites (L.K.5b).

Can a child who does not read yet use these?

Yes, if someone reads the words aloud. Nothing on the sheet is a picture. The first set keeps to short words such as big, hot and wet.

Can I print my own opposite pairs?

Yes. The box above the button takes one pair a line: the word, an equals sign and its opposite, as in tall = short. What you type is printed in place of our list.

How were the pairs checked?

Each pair is listed as antonyms in the English Wiktionary entry of one or both of its words, read on 2 October 2026.