Compound words are one of the word-building question types in the GL Assessment 11+ Verbal Reasoning paper, where two smaller words click together to make a single bigger one (sun + flower, foot + ball, water + fall). Your child is asked to find the word that bridges two others, or to spot the pair that joins, rather than simply to recognise a compound they already know.
GL does not publish how many of each VR type appear, but our research estimate is that when a word-building section like this shows up it runs to a short block of roughly five to ten questions. Like the rest of the paper it is multiple choice with five options (A to E) marked on a separate answer sheet, so a confident, quick approach here protects time for the heavier reasoning sections later on.
PrepStep practises compound words in the three shapes GL actually uses: choosing one word that fits in front of (or after) two given words, finding the two words in a list of five that join together, and picking one word from each of two groups to build a new word. Every question comes with a worked explanation, so your child learns to test a candidate against both halves rather than settling for the first word that sounds familiar.
Compound words are tested through several closely related shapes. GL does not break the type down publicly, so the spread below is our research estimate drawn from the question shapes that appear in practice material:
Difficulty climbs from everyday compounds a Year 4 child uses daily (bedroom, football) up to less obvious or slightly old-fashioned compounds such as landscape, uproar and household, where one half is far less common than the other.
This family ignores meaning completely and works on letters. Hidden words find a word buried across two others, compound words join two words into one, move a letter shifts a single letter between words, missing letters restore letters taken out, and shared letter finds one letter that completes several words.
| Question type | What it tests | What it looks like | The classic mix-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compound WordsThis page | Whether your child can join one whole word to another to make a single, real compound word. | Two groups of words; your child takes one from each so they join into one real word, left word first. For example, "grape" plus "fruit" makes "grapefruit". | Treating it like hidden words and searching for a buried word, instead of joining two whole words openly given. |
| Hidden Words | Whether your child can find a small word hidden across the join between two side-by-side words. | A full sentence; the hidden word, usually four letters, straddles the end of one word and the start of the next. For example: "She left the plate amid the mess". | Treating it like missing letters and looking inside one word, instead of across the join between two neighbouring words. |
| Move a Letter | Whether your child can move one letter from one word to another so both become new, real words. | Two real words; take one letter out of the first and add it to the second so both stay real. For example, "place" and "at" become "lace" and "pat". | Treating it like missing letters and moving three letters, when only one letter may cross between the two words. |
| Missing Letters | Restoring three letters taken from a word, where the three removed letters also spell a small word. | A word with three letters removed and shown as a gap; those three letters must spell a word too. For example, "___SNIP" becomes "PARSNIP", where the missing letters spell "PAR". | Treating it like hidden words and scanning across two words, when the missing letters come out of one single word. |
| Shared Letter | Whether your child can find one letter that sits at the join of two word parts and completes four words at once. | Two pairs of word parts, each with a bracketed gap; one single letter ends the left part and begins the right part, making four real words. For example, "CA(?)EN" and "BU(?)ANK" both take "T", giving CAT and TEN, then BUT and TANK. | Treating it like missing letters and looking for three letters, when only one letter is shared across every word. |
Ask what the letters are doing. One letter jumping between two words is move a letter, one letter completing four word parts is shared letter, whole words joining is compound words, a word buried in a sentence is hidden words, and letters put back into a single word is missing letters.
Five questions drawn from PrepStep’s compound words bank, spanning Foundation to Challenging. Tap “Show worked explanation” to see the full method after you’ve had a go. The correct answer is highlighted on each question so you can check immediately.
Which word can go in front of both 'light' and 'rise' to make two new words?
Sun + light = sunlight, and sun + rise = sunrise. Both are common compound words. 'Day' works with 'light' (daylight) but not 'rise'. 'Star' works with 'light' (starlight) but not 'rise'. Only 'sun' works with BOTH. ✓
Which word can go in front of both 'grade' and 'roar' to make two new words?
Up + grade = upgrade, and up + roar = uproar. Both are common compound words. 'Down' works with 'grade' (downgrade) but not 'roar'. 'Out', 'Back' and 'For' do not form compound words with either. ✓
Find the two words that join together to make a new word.
Select the two correct answers.
'Butter' + 'fly' makes 'butterfly'. None of the other words (brick, frost, plum) form compound words with each other or with butter/fly. ✓
Find the two words that join together to make a new word.
Select the two correct answers.
'Rain' + 'bow' makes 'rainbow'. None of the other words (grape, lamp, cork) form compound words with each other or with rain/bow. ✓
Find two words, one from each group, that join together to make a new word. The word from the first group always comes first.
Group A
Group B
cup + board = cupboard. A cupboard is a piece of furniture with shelves for storing things. ✓
Common mistake 1 of 4
Choosing a word that only fits one of the two targets.
Tip: GL stocks the options with a word that joins the first target beautifully but fails the second. "Day" makes daylight but there is no "dayrise". Teach your child to test the candidate against both targets before committing, not just the one they read first.
Common mistake 2 of 4
Joining the words in the wrong order.
Tip: Compounds are directional: "rainbow" is a word but "bowrain" is not. In the pick-from-groups shape the first-group word always leads. Encourage your child to read the join out loud in the stated order to hear whether it is a real word.
Common mistake 3 of 4
Accepting an American or near-compound that is not standard British English.
Tip: Options sometimes include forms like "anyplace" that sound plausible but are not the British compound GL rewards. If a more natural everyday compound also fits, that is almost always the intended answer.
Common mistake 4 of 4
Stopping at the first valid pair in find-the-pair questions.
Tip: The five-word lists are built so that two unrelated words can look tempting together. Train your child to scan all five and confirm that the other three genuinely form no compound, rather than grabbing the first pairing that catches the eye.
Every PrepStep 11+ question is original, written to mirror the style and difficulty of the GL Assessment 11+ and grounded in a library of real past-paper patterns, with a worked explanation for each one. PrepStep is built by Ben Jackson, its founder and a parent who has taken one child through the 11+ with another preparing now. Last reviewed: August 2026.
It is a word-building question where two smaller words join to make one bigger word. In the GL Assessment 11+ your child might be asked for a word that fits in front of or after two given words, to find the two words in a list that join together, or to build a compound by picking one word from each of two groups. It tests vocabulary and the ability to test a word against more than one partner.
Through multiple choice with five options (A to E) marked on a separate answer sheet. The questions appear in a few shapes (front-linking, end-linking, find-the-pair and pick-from-two-groups) but all reward the same instinct: checking that a candidate word genuinely makes a real compound with both targets, in the correct order.
GL does not publish a fixed number, and the question types rotate from one paper to the next. Our research estimate is that when a word-building section appears it is a short block of roughly five to ten questions. Because each one is quick to solve, it is worth banking these marks confidently and early.
The hardest items use a compound where one half is rare or slightly old-fashioned, such as landscape, uproar or household, so the answer does not jump out. They also lean on direction (rainbow works, bowrain does not) and stock the options with a word that fits only one of the two targets. Careful testing beats first instinct here.
Wide reading builds the bank of compounds a child recognises instantly, and a quick daily habit of spotting compounds in everyday text helps. Beyond that, practising in the exact GL shapes teaches the test-both-halves discipline that the trickier questions demand. Free PrepStep practice covers all three compound-word shapes with worked explanations, so your child learns why an answer works rather than just which one to pick.
Yes, compound words are a common verbal reasoning question type, where two smaller words join to make a new one (like foot and ball making football). They test vocabulary and quick pattern-spotting. Practise real-style compound word questions here free, each explained simply so the trick becomes clear.
They all work on letters rather than meaning, but the letters do different jobs. Hidden words asks your child to find a small word buried across the join between two words in a sentence. Compound words asks them to join two whole words into one real word. Missing letters asks them to restore letters taken out of a single word, where those removed letters also spell a word of their own. Same skill family, three different letter puzzles.
Explore the other GL Assessment verbal reasoning topics, each with free sample questions and worked explanations.
PrepStep has 175 compound words questions in GL Assessment format: five options, instant feedback, and step-by-step explanations. Free to start.
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