This rhyming words game helps kindergarten and first grade children hear words that sound alike by playing: pop balloons, flip memory cards, race cars or sprint through true and false sentences. Each question asks what rhymes with a word such as cat, sun or boat, and children choose from four words, one of which rhymes. It is free, needs no sign-up, works on phones and tablets, and comes with a printable rhyme families chart and a draw-a-line matching sheet.
Rhyming words game: see how it plays
The game below has four modes, and every question asks for a rhyme. The printable sheet shows the 12 rhyme families used in the game and a matching activity, and the pictures show Answer Race, Balloon Pop and Memory Match on this page.
How the rhyming words game works
- Answer Race: every right answer moves your car forward, and you race three computer cars to the finish flag. The first to 15 wins, and wrong taps cost time, not places.
- Balloon Pop: answers float up on balloons, and you pop the right one before it drifts off the top. The question names the word to rhyme with, and one balloon holds a rhyme while the other three do not. The game speeds up as your score climbs, and three misses ends the round.
- Memory Match: twelve face-down cards hide six “what rhymes with” questions and their six answers. Flip two at a time and match each one to its answer in as few moves as you can.
- True or False: sixty seconds on the clock. Decide whether each sentence, such as cat rhymes with hat, is right or wrong. A streak of five or more scores double.
Rhyme game for kids: the 12 rhyme families
The game asks about 12 words, cat, dog, cake, bee, star, sun, king, boat, light, moon, bear and book, and each has three rhyming partners that can be the answer. That makes 36 different questions, and the three wrong choices are always taken from other families. The last column of the table shows how each family is spelled, because not every rhyme looks alike on the page:
| Word asked | Words that rhyme | Spelling pattern |
|---|---|---|
| cat | hat, bat, mat | -at |
| dog | log, frog, fog | -og |
| cake | lake, snake, rake | -ake |
| bee | tree, see, three | -ee |
| star | car, jar, far | -ar |
| sun | run, fun, bun | -un |
| king | ring, sing, wing | -ing |
| boat | coat, goat, float | -oat |
| light | night, kite, bite | -ight and -ite |
| moon | spoon, June, soon | -oon and -une |
| bear | chair, hair, pear | -are, -air and -ear |
| book | look, cook, hook | -ook |
Nine of the families share one spelling ending, such as cat, hat, bat and mat, which makes them easy for early readers. Three do not: light and kite, moon and June, and bear with chair and hair look different on the page but sound the same, and they are a good test of listening and not looking. Wikipedia’s rhyme article explains how a rhyme is the same ending sound from the last stressed vowel onward.
Why rhyming matters for learning to read
Hearing and making rhymes is one of the first steps of phonological awareness, which is the ability to notice the sounds inside spoken words. Children who can rhyme can usually also split words into sounds, and that skill helps them learn to read and spell. Rhyme also builds memory for the order of sounds, which is why nursery rhymes have lasted for hundreds of years.
| Stage | What the child can do | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Enjoy | Listen to rhymes and join in | Sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and leave out the last word. |
| 2. Notice | Say whether two words rhyme | Play True or False: cat and hat, then cat and dog. |
| 3. Choose | Pick the word that rhymes from a set | Play Answer Race or Balloon Pop in this game. |
| 4. Make | Say a rhyming word, even a silly one | Use the sheet: write two more words for fun, bun, ring and book. |
Rhyming words chart and rhyming words for kindergarten
The rhyming words chart on the printable sheet is made for rhyming words for kindergarten: it lists the 12 families so a teacher can read a rhyming game aloud, and children can find words that rhyme kindergarten classes have already met. Print the chart for the wall, and add new words in marker as the class finds them. A words that rhyme kindergarten display grows into a favorite spot for early readers.
Rhyming activities to try after the game
- Rhyme chain: take turns saying a word that rhymes with the last one: cat, hat, mat, sat, fat. Silly words are allowed.
- Odd one out: say three words, such as sun, run and cat, and ask which does not rhyme.
- Rhyme hunt: look around the room for two objects with names that rhyme, such as chair and bear.
- Picture books: pause before the last word of a rhyming page and let the child supply it.
- Word families: change one letter to turn cat into bat, hat and mat, and write the new words.
Where rhyming fits at school
| Level | What children are expected to do |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten (US) | Recognize and produce rhyming words (RF.K.2.a) |
| Grade 1 (US) | Distinguish long and short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words (RF.1.2.a) |
| Reception (England) | Join in with rhymes and songs, and hear and say the sounds in words |
The Common Core kindergarten foundational skills standards list rhyming as the first phonological skill. Our rhyming words worksheets give written practice. Once rhymes are easy, move on to the sight words game and the first grade spelling words game.
Rhyming words game: frequently asked questions
What is a rhyming words game?
It is a game that asks which word has the same ending sound as another word. In this game the children choose from four words.
What age is the rhyming words game for?
Kindergarten and first grade, usually ages 4 to 7. Young children can play with a grown-up reading the words aloud.
Do rhyming words have to be spelled the same?
No. Moon and June rhyme but look different. Rhyme is about sound, not spelling.
Why does a rhyme game help with reading?
Rhymes train children to hear the ending sounds of words, which makes it easier to read and spell words from the same family.
Is the rhyming words 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 it work on phones and tablets?
Yes. Every game is built for touch first and also works with a mouse on a computer.