Rhyming Words for Kids: Complete List

Most of us have fond memories of chanting nursery rhymes or reading Dr. Seuss stories as children.

These catchy tales are more than just entertainment. They expose children to the rhythm of language, a critical step in cognitive development. Research shows that children with strong early verbal skills often develop robust reading and writing abilities later in life.

Helping your little one recognize and use rhymes boosts their verbal confidence and sets the stage for literacy. Introducing simple rhyming words for kids is the perfect way to start that journey.

How Do You Teach Rhyming Words To Children?

Learning to rhyme usually happens in three phases. While every child is unique, they generally move through these steps as their phonological awareness grows.

Rhyme Exposure

This is the listening phase. Your child hears rhyming words in songs, during bedtime stories, or in casual conversation. At this stage, your job is simply to point out the matching sounds so they begin to notice the pattern.

Rhyme Recognition

Once your child understands the concept, they reach the recognition stage. They will be able to tell you when two words rhyme after hearing them. For example, if you ask, “Do ‘cat’ and ‘hat’ rhyme?” they can confidently say yes.

Rhyme Production

Finally, your child will produce rhymes independently. They might take pride in making up silly songs or asking you questions like, “Do you know what rhymes with door? Floor!”

This might seem small to adults, but it is a massive cognitive leap for a child. Be sure to celebrate their new skill to keep them motivated.

Ways To Teach Rhyming Words

Drills can be boring, so keep learning fresh by using these engaging methods.

Share Rhyme In Books, Poems, And Songs

Reading and singing are the most natural ways to expose children to rhythm. Read a full story or sing a song once for enjoyment, then go back and highlight the rhyming pairs.

Once your child understands the concept, pause before the second rhyming word. Ask them to fill in the blank with a word that fits the sound.

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Puzzles

Rhyme word puzzles are excellent for visual learners. They encourage children to physically pair up images that sound alike.

Clip Cards

Not all rhyming words look the same at the end (for example, “blue” and “shoe”). To prevent spelling confusion, use peg cards where your child picks the correct rhyme based on the picture rather than the text.

Lap Books

Create nursery rhyme lap-books together. Print out a standard nursery rhyme, but have your child replace original words with their own funny rhyming alternatives.

Rhyming Dictionaries

Help your child explore new vocabulary with a rhyming dictionary. These tools are immensely helpful for budding writers, poets, or songwriters of any age.

Rhyming Words For Kindergarten

These lists are perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners. They focus on simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words that are easy to hear and say.

Words That Rhyme With At

Here are common words ending in the -at sound:

1. Bat
2. Cat
3. Fat
4. Hat
5. Mat
6. Pat
7. Rat
8. Sat
9. Vat
10. Slat
11. Brat
12. Flat
13. Chat
14. Splat
15. That

Words That Rhyme With An

Try these words from the -an family:

1. Ban
2. Can
3. Fan
4. Man
5. Pan
6. Ran
7. Tan
8. Van
9. Flan
10. Plan
11. Span
12. Scan

Words That Rhyme With Ab

These words all share the -ab ending:

1. Cab
2. Dab
3. Drab
4. Fab
5. Flab
6. Grab
7. Jab
8. Nab
9. Lab
10. Slab
11. Tab
12. Crab

Words That Rhyme With Ad

Practice the -ad sound with these options:

1. Add
2. Bad
3. Clad
4. Dad
5. Fad
6. Had
7. Lad
8. Mad
9. Pad
10. Rad
11. Sad

Words That Rhyme With All

The -all family includes these rhyming words:

1. Ball
2. Call
3. Fall
4. Hall
5. Mall
6. Shawl
7. Tall
8. Wall
9. Thrall
10. Gall

Words That Rhyme With Ag

Here is a list for the -ag sound:

1. Bag
2. Flag
3. Drag
4. Gag
5. Hag
6. Nag
7. Rag
8. Sag
9. Tag
10. Wag

Words That Rhyme With Ip

Use these words to practice the -ip sound:

1. Ship
2. Chip
3. Clip
4. Dip
5. Drip
6. Flip
7. Grip
8. Hip
9. Kip
10. Lip
11. Nip
12. Pip
13. Rip
14. Sip
15. Slip
16. Skip
17. Snip
18. Tip
19. Trip
20. Zip

Words That Rhyme With Ap

These words feature the -ap ending:

1. App
2. Cap
3. Clap
4. Flap
5. Gap
6. Lap
7. Map
8. Nap
9. Rap
10. Scrap
11. Slap
12. Snap
13. Strap
14. Tap
15. Trap

Words That Rhyme With Id

Try these rhymes ending in -id:

1. Bid
2. Did
3. Hid
4. Kid
5. Lid
6. Mid
7. Rid
8. Sid
9. Grid
10. Slid
11. Skid
12. Squid

Words That Rhyme With Op

Practice the -op sound with this list:

1. Bop
2. Cop
3. Crop
4. Clop
5. Drop
6. Flop
7. Hop
8. Mop
9. Plop
10. Prop
11. Shop
12. Stop
13. Swap
14. Top

Words That Rhyme With Am

The -am family includes:

1. Clam
2. Cram
3. Dam
4. Gram
5. Ham
6. Jam
7. Lamb
8. Ram
9. Slam
10. Spam
11. Tram

Words That Rhyme With Ig

Here are words ending with the -ig sound:

1. Big
2. Dig
3. Fig
4. Gig
5. Pig
6. Rig
7. Twig
8. Swig
9. Wig
10. Brig

Words That Rhyme With Ar

These words rhyme with the -ar sound:

1. Are
2. Bar
3. Car
4. Far
5. Jar
6. Scar
7. Star
8. Tar
9. Ajar
10. Guitar

Words That Rhyme With Aw

Use these -aw words for practice:

1. Awe
2. Caw
3. Claw
4. Draw
5. Flaw
6. Paw
7. Raw
8. Saw
9. Straw
10. Thaw

Words That Rhyme With Ay

The long A sound in -ay words is popular in nursery rhymes:

1. Bay
2. Clay
3. Day
4. Gray
5. Hay
6. Jay
7. Lay
8. May
9. Pay
10. Play
11. Pray
12. Say
13. Stay
14. Spray
15. Sway
16. They
17. Way
18. Tray

Words That Rhyme With Ell

Here are words ending in -ell:

1. Bell
2. Cell
3. Dell
4. Fell
5. Gel
6. Sell
7. Shell
8. Smell
9. Spell
10. Tell
11. Well
12. Yell

Words That Rhyme With En

Try these rhymes from the -en family:

1. Den
2. Men
3. Pen
4. Ten
5. Then
6. When
7. Wren
8. Zen
9. Ben
10. Ken

Words That Rhyme With Et

These words feature the -et ending:

1. Bet
2. Get
3. Jet
4. Let
5. Met
6. Net
7. Pet
8. Set
9. Wet
10. Yet

Words That Rhyme With Ew

The -ew sound can be spelled in different ways:

1. Blue
2. Blew
3. Brew
4. Chew
5. Clue
6. Crew
7. Cue
8. Do
9. Dew
10. Drew
11. Ewe
12. Flew
13. Glue
14. Grew
15. Knew
16. New
17. Phew
18. Shoe
19. Shoo
20. Stew
21. Through
22. Threw
23. True
24. Two
25. View
26. You
27. Who
28. Zoo

Words That Rhyme With In

Practice the -in sound with these words:

1. Bin
2. Chin
3. Din
4. Fin
5. Grin
6. Inn
7. Pin
8. Shin
9. Skin
10. Spin
11. Twin
12. Thin
13. Tin
14. Win

Words That Rhyme With It

Here is a list for the -it family:

1. Bit
2. Fit
3. Hit
4. Kit
5. Knit
6. Lit
7. Mit
8. Nit
9. Pit
10. Sit
11. Quit
12. Skit
13. Slit
14. Spit

Words That Rhyme With Od

These words rhyme with -od:

1. Cod
2. Bod
3. Odd
4. Nod
5. Plod
6. Prod
7. Rod
8. Squad
9. Trod
10. Pod

Words That Rhyme With Og

Use these -og words for practice:

1. Bog
2. Blog
3. Cog
4. Clog
5. Dog
6. Fog
7. Frog
8. Hog
9. Jog
10. Log

Words That Rhyme With Op

Here are more words ending in -op:

1. Top
2. Chop
3. Cop
4. Crop
5. Drop
6. Flop
7. Hop
8. Mop
9. Pop
10. Shop
11. Stop

Words That Rhyme With Ot

The -ot family is great for beginners:

1. Blot
2. Cot
3. Clot
4. Dot
5. Got
6. Hot
7. Knot
8. Not
9. Plot
10. Pot
11. Rot
12. Shot
13. Spot

Words That Rhyme With Ow

These words feature the -ow sound:

1. Bow
2. Brow
3. Cow
4. How
5. Now
6. Pow
7. Sow
8. Row
9. Vow
10. Wow

Rhyming Words For First Grade And Older

These lists are designed for first graders and older students. They include more complex spelling patterns and blends suitable for an expanding vocabulary.

Words That Rhyme With Ake

Here are words ending in -ake:

1. Ache
2. Bake
3. Cake
4. Brake
5. Break
6. Fake
7. Flake
8. Lake
9. Make
10. Quake
11. Rake
12. Sake
13. Take
14. Sneak
15. Steak
16. Stake
17. Wake

Words That Rhyme With Ale

This list features the -ale sound:

1. Bail
2. Bale
3. Kale
4. Dale
5. Fail
6. Hail
7. Mail
8. Male
9. Nail
10. Pail
11. Pale
12. Rail
13. Sail
14. Snail
15. Sale
16. Stale
17. Tail
18. Tale
19. Trail
20. Whale
21. Detail
22. Toenail
23. Email

Words That Rhyme With Ain

Try these rhymes from the -ain family:

1. Brain
2. Cane
3. Chain
4. Crane
5. Drain
6. Gain
7. Grain
8. Lane
9. Mane
10. Main
11. Pane
12. Pain
13. Plain
14. Plane
15. Reign
16. Rain
17. Sprain
18. Stain
19. Strain
20. Train
21. Again

Words That Rhyme With Or

These words rhyme with -or:

1. Door
2. Chore
3. Core
4. Four
5. For
6. Sore
7. Floor
8. Door
9. More
10. Oar
11. Snore
12. Soar
13. Store
14. Score

Words That Rhyme With School

Finally, challenge your child with rhymes for “school”:

1. Cool
2. Cruel
3. Drool
4. Fool
5. Fuel
6. Ghoul
7. Jewel
8. Mule
9. Pool
10. Spool
11. Tool
12. Who’ll
13. You’ll
14. Yule

FAQs

Why Is Rhyming Important For Reading?

Rhyming helps children notice how sounds in words work, a skill known as phonological awareness. This ability to identify and manipulate sounds is one of the strongest predictors of early reading success.

At What Age Do Children Start Rhyming?

Most children can begin to recognize rhymes between ages 3 and 4. By ages 4 to 5, many children can start producing their own simple rhymes, like matching “cat” with “bat.”

How Can I Help A Child Who Struggles To Rhyme?

If your child isn’t picking it up yet, go back to basics. Focus on listening rather than speaking. Read rhyming books and emphasize the sounds, or clap out the rhythm in songs. Keep it playful and pressure-free.

Any Time Can Be Rhyme Time

Whether you are playing rhyme I-Spy in the car, singing nursery rhymes during bath time, or reading children’s poems before bed, you are doing important work.

Build a little wordplay into every day. It doesn’t need to be a formal lesson; even a few minutes of silly songs will lay a solid foundation for your child’s future literacy.