This fruits and vegetables hangman game for kids has 25 hidden fruits and vegetables words to guess one letter at a time, with six balloons in place of a gallows. Tap letters or type them: right letters fill in the word, and each wrong letter pops a balloon. The words run from 4 to 10 letters, including apple, banana and cherry and onion, and every word in this set is fruits and vegetables, so the category is your first clue. It is a free fruits and vegetables word game that needs no sign-up, works on phones and tablets, and comes with a printable word list with clues.
Fruits and vegetables hangman game: see how it plays
The game below starts a new fruits and vegetables word as soon as the page opens, and a round ends when you find the word or lose all six balloons. The printable fruits and vegetables hangman word list has all 25 words with a clue and empty letter boxes, and the pictures show the game at the start, in the middle of a round and after a win.
How the fruits and vegetables hangman game works
- Guess a letter: tap a letter on the keyboard below the word, or type it on a computer. You can only try each letter once.
- Right letters appear: every place the letter is used in the word fills in.
- Wrong letters pop a balloon: you have six balloons, so six wrong guesses ends the round, and the game shows the word.
- Keep a streak: each word you find adds one to your streak, and your best streak is saved on this device only.
- Change the category: use the buttons above the game to switch to animals, fruits and vegetables, space, countries, the human body, sports, weather or spelling words.
It plays like hangman, the classic pencil-and-paper word guessing game described in Wikipedia’s hangman article, but a basket of balloons replaces the hanging picture, so it suits younger children and classrooms.
Fruits and vegetables word game: all 25 words with clues
The list is the same every time, so you can study it before you play or use the clues as riddles. The table gives the number of letters, a clue and the type for each word.
| No. | Word | Letters | Clue | Fruit or vegetable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | apple | 5 | A crunchy fruit that can be red, green or yellow | Fruit |
| 2 | banana | 6 | A long yellow fruit that monkeys love | Fruit |
| 3 | cherry | 6 | A small round red fruit with a stone inside | Fruit |
| 4 | grape | 5 | A small fruit that grows in bunches | Fruit |
| 5 | lemon | 5 | A sour yellow citrus fruit | Fruit |
| 6 | mango | 5 | A sweet tropical fruit with a big flat stone | Fruit |
| 7 | orange | 6 | A round citrus fruit and also the name of a color | Fruit |
| 8 | papaya | 6 | A tropical fruit with orange flesh and black seeds | Fruit |
| 9 | peach | 5 | A fuzzy fruit with a big stone | Fruit |
| 10 | pear | 4 | A fruit that is narrow at the top and round at the bottom | Fruit |
| 11 | pineapple | 9 | A tropical fruit with a spiky skin and a leafy crown | Fruit |
| 12 | plum | 4 | A purple fruit that becomes a prune when dried | Fruit |
| 13 | strawberry | 10 | A red fruit with its seeds on the outside | Fruit |
| 14 | watermelon | 10 | A huge green fruit with red juicy flesh | Fruit |
| 15 | kiwi | 4 | A small fuzzy brown fruit with bright green flesh | Fruit |
| 16 | coconut | 7 | A large hard-shelled fruit full of milk and white flesh | Fruit |
| 17 | blueberry | 9 | A tiny round blue berry | Fruit |
| 18 | carrot | 6 | An orange root vegetable that rabbits like | Vegetable (root) |
| 19 | potato | 6 | A starchy vegetable that grows underground | Vegetable (tuber) |
| 20 | broccoli | 8 | A green vegetable that looks like a little tree | Vegetable (flower) |
| 21 | pumpkin | 7 | A large orange vegetable carved at Halloween | Vegetable (botanically a fruit) |
| 22 | cucumber | 8 | A long green vegetable that is cool and crunchy | Vegetable (botanically a fruit) |
| 23 | tomato | 6 | A red fruit that is eaten like a vegetable | Vegetable (botanically a fruit) |
| 24 | spinach | 7 | A leafy green vegetable | Vegetable (leaf) |
| 25 | onion | 5 | A vegetable that makes your eyes water when you cut it | Vegetable (bulb) |
Fruits and vegetables in the word list
| Type | Words | Which ones |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 17 | apple, banana, cherry, grape, lemon, mango, orange, papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, plum, strawberry, watermelon, kiwi, coconut and blueberry |
| Vegetable | 8 | carrot, potato, broccoli, pumpkin, cucumber, tomato, spinach and onion |
Wikipedia’s fruit article explains why a tomato counts as a fruit even though cooks call it a vegetable.
Word guess game strategy for fruits and vegetables hangman: the best letters
Good hangman players guess the letters that appear in the most words. In this list, 62 of the 159 letters in the list are vowels (39%). These letters are used in the greatest number of the 25 words:
| Letter | Words that contain it | Times used altogether |
|---|---|---|
| A | 15 of 25 | 19 |
| E | 12 of 25 | 15 |
| P | 10 of 25 | 15 |
| N | 10 of 25 | 12 |
| R | 10 of 25 | 15 |
| O | 10 of 25 | 15 |
| L | 7 of 25 | 7 |
| C | 7 of 25 | 10 |
- The list has two kinds of words, 17 fruits and 8 vegetables, so ask yourself: is it sweet or savory?
- Many fruits end in a vowel or Y (apple, mango, papaya, cherry), while most vegetables end in a consonant (carrot, onion, spinach, cucumber).
Double letters are a clue too. In this list, apple, cherry, pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, carrot and broccoli all have a letter used twice in a row.
The length gives you a head start too. The words are 4 to 10 letters long, and the longest are strawberry and watermelon. The shortest are pear, plum and kiwi. Here is how many words there are of each length:
| Length | Words | The words |
|---|---|---|
| 4 letters | 3 | pear, plum, kiwi |
| 5 letters | 6 | apple, grape, lemon, mango, peach, onion |
| 6 letters | 7 | banana, cherry, orange, papaya, carrot, potato, tomato |
| 7 letters | 3 | coconut, pumpkin, spinach |
| 8 letters | 2 | broccoli, cucumber |
| 9 letters | 2 | pineapple, blueberry |
| 10 letters | 2 | strawberry, watermelon |
Hangman for kids: learning ideas
- Rainbow plate: sort the 25 words by color and plan a rainbow of fruits and vegetables for lunch.
- Taste test: pick five words from the list, buy them, and vote on a favorite.
- Grow your own: plant a bean, carrot top or onion in a cup and watch it grow.
- Fruit or vegetable? argue the botanical case for tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins, which grow from flowers and hold seeds.
The fruits and vegetables hangman game also builds spelling, because children must think about which letters go in which order. The Common Core grade 3 language standards expect children to use spelling patterns, and a word game is a friendly way to practice them. For spelling lists to match, try the spelling worksheet maker.
Fruits and vegetables word game riddles
Turn the clues from the fruits and vegetables hangman word list into riddles for a group. Read the clue, let children guess, then check against the game:
- A crunchy fruit that can be red, green or yellow. What am I? Answer: apple.
- A long yellow fruit that monkeys love. What am I? Answer: banana.
- A small round red fruit with a stone inside. What am I? Answer: cherry.
- A small fruit that grows in bunches. What am I? Answer: grape.
- A sour yellow citrus fruit. What am I? Answer: lemon.
Short, frequent rounds of fruits and vegetables hangman work better than one long session, because each new word is a small success. Play a few rounds, check the word list, and see how long your streak can grow.
Fruits and vegetables hangman game: frequently asked questions
Which words are in the fruits and vegetables hangman game?
There are 25: 17 fruits (apple to blueberry) and 8 vegetables (carrot, potato, broccoli, pumpkin, cucumber, tomato, spinach and onion).
How many balloons do you get in the fruits and vegetables hangman game?
Six. Each wrong letter pops one balloon, and when all six are gone the round ends and the word is shown.
Can I choose another category in the fruits and vegetables hangman game?
Yes. Use the buttons above the game to switch between animals, fruits and vegetables, space, countries, the human body, sports, weather and spelling words.
Is the fruits and vegetables hangman game free, and do kids need an account?
Yes, it is free, and no account is needed. Best scores are saved only in the browser on this device.
Does the fruits and vegetables hangman game work on phones and tablets?
Yes. The game is built for touch first and also works with a mouse or keyboard on a computer.
What is a good first letter to guess?
Guess A, E and P first. They appear in the most words in this list, so they give you the most information.