Thanksgiving Vocabulary Worksheet

Press Print worksheet to match twelve foods of the meal, from turkey and stuffing to pecan pie, to their meanings.

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Thanksgiving vocabularyturkeystuffinggravycranberry saucemashed potatoessweet potatopumpkin piepecan piedinner rollside dishmain coursecasserolea starchy tuber with orange fleshand a sugary tastea red relish made from cookedcranberries and sugarboiled potatoes crushed until softand smootha small round of bread servedwith a mealthe big farm bird carved at theholiday tablea pie of tree nuts set in a stickyfillingthe chief part of a dinner, servedafter any startersa dessert with a spiced orangesquash fillinga food served alongside the mainpart of a meala brown topping thickened frommeat drippingsa mixture of foods oven-cookedtogether in one vessela savory filling of seasoned breadcrumbs or cubes
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Thanksgiving vocabularyAnswer keyturkeystuffinggravycranberry saucemashed potatoessweet potatopumpkin piepecan piedinner rollside dishmain coursecasserolea starchy tuber with orange fleshand a sugary tastea red relish made from cookedcranberries and sugarboiled potatoes crushed until softand smootha small round of bread servedwith a mealthe big farm bird carved at theholiday tablea pie of tree nuts set in a stickyfillingthe chief part of a dinner, servedafter any startersa dessert with a spiced orangesquash fillinga food served alongside the mainpart of a meala brown topping thickened frommeat drippingsa mixture of foods oven-cookedtogether in one vessela savory filling of seasoned breadcrumbs or cubes
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All 36 terms

The meal 12

  • casserole A mixture of foods oven-cooked together in one vessel. Green bean casserole is a Thanksgiving side dish.
  • cranberry sauce A red relish made from cooked cranberries and sugar. A spoonful of cranberry sauce goes on the plate next to the turkey.
  • dinner roll A small round of bread served with a meal. A basket of dinner rolls is passed around the table.
  • gravy A brown topping thickened from meat drippings. Gravy is poured over turkey and potatoes.
  • main course The chief part of a dinner, served after any starters. At Thanksgiving the main course is usually turkey.
  • mashed potatoes Boiled potatoes crushed until soft and smooth. Mashed potatoes are often mixed with butter and milk.
  • pecan pie A pie of tree nuts set in a sticky filling. Pecan pie is known as a specialty of the Southern United States.
  • pumpkin pie A dessert with a spiced orange squash filling. Pumpkin pie is a traditional Thanksgiving dessert.
  • side dish A food served alongside the main part of a meal. Green beans are a side dish.
  • stuffing A savory filling of seasoned bread crumbs or cubes. Stuffing is also called dressing.
  • sweet potato A starchy tuber with orange flesh and a sugary taste. Sweet potatoes are one of the foods of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
  • turkey The big farm bird carved at the holiday table. A roast turkey is the usual main dish of Thanksgiving dinner.
Show all 36 terms (24 more)

Harvest 12

  • autumn The months when leaves turn and days grow short. Autumn is also called fall.
  • cornucopia A curved horn shown overflowing with farm produce. A cornucopia is also called a horn of plenty.
  • crop Anything a farmer raises in a field to be gathered. Corn and wheat are crops.
  • gourd A pumpkin relative with a tough rind, often dried. A dried gourd can be made into a bowl or a drinking cup.
  • grain The small hard seeds of plants such as wheat and rice. Flour is made by grinding grain.
  • harvest The bringing in of the year's grown food from the fields. Wheat, corn and apples each have their own harvest time.
  • harvest festival A yearly celebration held when the crops are in. Thanksgiving grew out of days of thanks for the harvest.
  • maize The tall cereal plant that bears ears of kernels. Maize is the plant that Americans call corn; it is native to the Americas.
  • reap To cut down grain when it is ripe. Farmers once reaped wheat by hand with a sickle.
  • sheaf A bundle of cut stalks tied together. A sheaf of wheat is tied around the middle.
  • squash A fleshy vine fruit cooked as a vegetable. Squash includes the pumpkin.
  • yield The amount that a field produces. A good year brings a large yield.

Family and gathering 12

  • feast A grand spread of food set out for a celebration. Thanksgiving dinner is a feast.
  • gathering A meeting of people who come together. A family gathering may fill the whole house.
  • generation One step in a family's line of descent. Grandparents, parents and children are three generations.
  • gratitude A warm sense of thanks for what one has been given. People show gratitude by saying thank you.
  • guest Someone welcomed to another family's table. Each guest has a seat at the table.
  • host The one who has company over and serves the meal. The host greets people at the door.
  • household Everyone who shares one dwelling. A household may be one person or many.
  • in-law A family member gained through a wedding, not by birth. A sister's husband is an in-law.
  • national holiday A day off from work set by a country's law. Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November, is a federal holiday in the U.S.
  • potluck A shared supper made up of what the guests carry in. At a potluck one person may bring rolls and another a pie.
  • relative A person in the same family as you. An aunt, a cousin and a grandfather are relatives.
  • tradition Something a family does again each year, as elders did. Eating turkey at Thanksgiving is a tradition.

How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-03. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the entry for the term in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, and, for the terms with no entry or no fitting sense there (cranberry sauce), against the articles Cranberry sauce in English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. The terms were chosen with the articles Thanksgiving dinner, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving (United States) and Harvest of English Wikipedia open, read the same day. The example after each meaning is our own. Every meaning was read against its source again on 2026-10-05. Licence: own work

How it works

This Thanksgiving vocabulary worksheet prints twelve words down the left and their meanings, mixed up, down the right. Three sets cover the meal, the harvest, and family and gathering.

Read the full guide

Printable Thanksgiving vocabulary worksheets in three sets

Set opens on The meal: turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, dinner roll, side dish, main course and casserole. Harvest has cornucopia, crop, reap, yield, grain, sheaf, maize, gourd and squash.

Family and gathering

The third set prints relative, guest, host, gathering, generation, in-law, household, tradition, gratitude, potluck, feast and national holiday. The list is about the table and the season: it has no Pilgrim, no date in history and no word of faith.

  • Under the tool each word has an example sentence, such as: Squash includes the pumpkin.

Questions and answers

Does it work as an ESL Thanksgiving vocabulary worksheet?

The sheet prints the everyday words of the holiday, such as turkey, guest and feast, each with a meaning of one short line. The box takes your own word = meaning lines, so a class learning English can match its own list.

What are some Thanksgiving vocabulary words?

For the meal: turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. For the season: harvest, cornucopia, crop and autumn. For the day itself: guest, host, relative, tradition, gratitude and feast.

What is a cornucopia?

A cornucopia is a curved horn shown overflowing with fruit, vegetables and grain. It is also called a horn of plenty, and in pictures it stands for a plentiful harvest.

Is the key included?

Yes. After the sheet comes a page with the same words and meanings and a line drawn between each pair. Unchecking the box under More options prints the sheet without it.

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