Compound Words — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which word is a compound word?
A) mittens
B) grapefruit
C) kitchen
D) village
Grapefruit splits cleanly into two real words, grape and fruit, so it is a compound word. The other choices cannot be broken into two smaller words that each mean something.
2. What two words make up grandmother?
A) grand + moth
B) gran + mother
C) grand + mother
D) grander + mother
Grandmother starts with the word grand and ends with the word mother. Together they name your mother's or father's mother, showing she is a grand version of a mother in your family tree.
3. Which word is NOT a compound word?
A) lighthouse
B) jellyfish
C) basket
D) snowman
Basket cannot be split into two smaller words that each mean something, so it is not a compound word. The other choices can each be broken into two real words joined together.
4. Eye + brow = ?
A) eyeball
B) eyelash
C) eyebrow
D) eyelid
Put eye and brow together and you get eyebrow, the strip of hair above each eye. The word points straight to where this feature sits on your face.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. Apple + sauce = applesauce.
Joining apple and sauce makes applesauce, the soft snack made by cooking apples until they turn into a sauce. Both smaller words describe the food perfectly.
2. Grapefruit is made from grape and fruit.
Grapefruit is a round, tangy fruit that grows in clusters like grapes, which is where its name came from. You can clearly hear grape and fruit inside the whole word.
3. Lip + stick = lipstick.
Combining lip and stick gives you lipstick, the colorful stick of makeup that you put on your lips. The smaller words tell you both where it goes and its shape.
4. The first part of grandmother is grand.
Grandmother begins with the word grand, then ends with mother. The word grand is added to show she is one step up in the family, like the mother of your parent.
5. Meat + ball = meatball.
Mix meat and ball together and you get meatball, a small ball of ground meat cooked for meals like spaghetti. The two smaller words describe both what it is made of and its round shape.