Year 1 English: Rhyming words
Part of the Year 1 English poems and rhymes chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Rhyming words
A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound. Listen to cat, hat and mat. They all end with the same sound, -at, so they rhyme.
Rhyming words often end with the same letters too. Read the poem My Cat. The last words of lines 1 and 2 rhyme: small and wall. The last words of lines 3 and 4 rhyme too: sun and fun.
My CatMy cat is black and small.
She likes to sit on the wall.
She naps all day in the sun.
Then she wakes and has some fun.
Key ideas
- A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
- Rhyming words often end with the same letters, like cat and hat.
- Words that start the same do not always rhyme. Look at the end.
- A word that does not rhyme is the odd one out.
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -at, like cat.
- Say cat and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.cat → -at
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.dog → -og hat → -at pen → -en
- Write the word that matches. hat ends with -at, the same as cat.hat
Check. Say cat and hat out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -un, like sun.
- Say sun and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.sun → -un
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.wall → -all fun → -un small → -all
- Write the word that matches. fun ends with -un, the same as sun.fun
Check. Say sun and fun out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. The odd one out is the word that is different from the others.
Method. Two words rhyme when they end with the same sound. Find the two that match, and the one that does not.
- Say each word and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.bee → -ee tree → -ee cup → -up
- Find the two words that match. Two words that rhyme end with the same sound.bee and tree both end in -ee
- Find the one that is different. cup does not end with -ee.cup is the odd one out
Check. Say bee and tree out loud. They sound the same at the end. ✓
Watch out. The odd one out has a different ending, even if it starts with the same letter.
Watch out
Watch out: cake and cat start with the same letters, but they do not rhyme. Cake ends in -ake and cat ends in -at. Always look at the end of the word.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Say a word, such as hat, and ask your child for a word that sounds the same at the end. Let them say “cat”, “mat” or any other answer. Then ask: “Which word does not rhyme?” Point to the letters at the end of the words, so your child can see the rhyme as well as hear it.
Exercise 9A Rhyming words
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -ot, like hot.
- Say hot and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.hot → -ot
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.pot → -ot dog → -og
- Write the word that matches. pot ends with -ot, the same as hot.pot
Check. Say hot and pot out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -ig, like pig.
- Say pig and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.pig → -ig
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.big → -ig cup → -up
- Write the word that matches. big ends with -ig, the same as pig.big
Check. Say pig and big out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -ed, like bed.
- Say bed and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.bed → -ed
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.red → -ed cat → -at
- Write the word that matches. red ends with -ed, the same as bed.red
Check. Say bed and red out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -un, like sun.
- Say sun and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.sun → -un
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.bun → -un pen → -en
- Write the word that matches. bun ends with -un, the same as sun.bun
Check. Say sun and bun out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -ake, like cake.
- Say cake and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.cake → -ake
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.lake → -ake dog → -og
- Write the word that matches. lake ends with -ake, the same as cake.lake
Check. Say cake and lake out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. A rhyme is two words that end with the same sound.
Method. Rhyming words end with the same sound. Find the word that ends in -ox, like fox.
- Say fox and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.fox → -ox
- Check the ending of each choice. Look at the end of each word, not the start.box → -ox cup → -up tea → -ea
- Write the word that matches. box ends with -ox, the same as fox.box
Check. Say fox and box out loud. They end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Do not pick a word because it starts with the same letter. Look at the end.
Key words. The odd one out is the word that is different from the others.
Method. Two words rhyme when they end with the same sound. Find the two that match, and the one that does not.
- Say each word and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.cup → -up pup → -up hat → -at
- Find the two words that match. Two words that rhyme end with the same sound.cup and pup both end in -up
- Find the one that is different. hat does not end with -up.hat is the odd one out
Check. Say cup and pup out loud. They sound the same at the end. ✓
Watch out. The odd one out has a different ending, even if it starts with the same letter.
Key words. The odd one out is the word that is different from the others.
Method. Two words rhyme when they end with the same sound. Find the two that match, and the one that does not.
- Say each word and listen to its ending. Rhyming words end with the same sound.sock → -ock rock → -ock cow → -ow
- Find the two words that match. Two words that rhyme end with the same sound.sock and rock both end in -ock
- Find the one that is different. cow does not end with -ock.cow is the odd one out
Check. Say sock and rock out loud. They sound the same at the end. ✓
Watch out. The odd one out has a different ending, even if it starts with the same letter.
Method. Two words rhyme when they end with the same sound. Compare the endings.
- Say bat and mat. Listen to the end of each word.bat → -at mat → -at
- Compare the endings. Rhyming words end with the same sound.the endings match
- Write the answer. Yes
Check. Say both words out loud. They sound the same at the end. ✓
Watch out. Two words can start with the same letter and still not rhyme. Look at the end.
Method. Two words rhyme when they end with the same sound. Compare the endings.
- Say bat and bed. Listen to the end of each word.bat → -at bed → -ed
- Compare the endings. Rhyming words end with the same sound.the endings are different
- Write the answer. No
Check. Say both words out loud. They sound different at the end. ✓
Watch out. Two words can start with the same letter and still not rhyme. Look at the end.
Method. Two words rhyme when they end with the same sound. Compare the endings.
- Say ten and hen. Listen to the end of each word.ten → -en hen → -en
- Compare the endings. Rhyming words end with the same sound.the endings match
- Write the answer. Yes
Check. Say both words out loud. They sound the same at the end. ✓
Watch out. Two words can start with the same letter and still not rhyme. Look at the end.
Method. Two words rhyme when they end with the same sound. Compare the endings.
- Say cup and cap. Listen to the end of each word.cup → -up cap → -ap
- Compare the endings. Rhyming words end with the same sound.the endings are different
- Write the answer. No
Check. Say both words out loud. They sound different at the end. ✓
Watch out. Two words can start with the same letter and still not rhyme. Look at the end.
Method. Look at the end of each word on the list. Then find the word whose ending is different.
- Look at top, mop and stop. They all end with -op.top, mop, stop → -op
- Look at cup. Cup ends with -up, not -op.cup → -up
- Write the answer. cup
Check. Say hop, top, mop and stop. They all end with the same sound. ✓
Watch out. Check the ending of each word, not the first letter.
Method. Look at the end of each word, then decide if the endings are the same.
- Look at the end of cake. Cake ends in -ake.cake → -ake
- Look at the end of cat. Cat ends in -at.cat → -at
- Compare the endings. Rhyming words end with the same sound, and these do not.-ake and -at are different
- Write the answer. Mia is not right.No. They do not rhyme.
Check. Say cake and cat out loud. They start the same, but they sound different at the end. ✓
Watch out. Starting with the same letters does not make two words rhyme.
Method. Say both words, then compare the ends.
- Say bat and mat. Listen to the end of each word.bat, mat
- Look at the endings. Both words end with -at.bat → -at mat → -at
- Compare the endings. The same ending means the same sound at the end.-at = -at
- Write the answer. They both end with the same sound, -at.
Check. Say bat and mat together. They sound the same at the end. ✓
Watch out. You can say the rhyme as the same ending, -at, when you explain.