Rhyming words for kids, grouped by rhyme
Rhyming words end with the same sound, like cat and hat or moon and spoon. Rhyme is one of the first ways children learn to hear the sounds inside words. Hear every word, read the rhymes, and play the game.
Rhyming words list (46 words)
Tap a word to hear it.
Rhymes with cat
Rhymes with dog
Rhymes with bee
Rhymes with cake
Rhymes with king
Rhymes with star
Rhymes with moon
Rhymes with bear
Rhymes with blue
Rhyming words game: listen and find
Hear a word from the list and pick it from four look-alike words. Eight rounds, about two minutes.
Rhyming words spelling game: build the word
Hear a word and build it from letter tiles, one sound at a time. Letter pairs like sh or ck come as one tile, because they spell one sound. Six rounds.
Short answer
What are rhyming words?
Rhyming words are words that end with the same sound, starting from the last vowel: cat and hat, frog and log, bee and tree. The part that matches is called the rime, and the sound before it, the onset, is different. Hearing and making rhymes is an early phonological awareness skill that helps children notice the sounds inside words, and rhyme families such as -at and -ake help them read new words by analogy.
- Words rhyme when they share the same final vowel and ending sound, as in cake and lake.
- Rhyme is about sound, not spelling: bear, chair and square all rhyme.
- Many children start to hear rhymes before they can read, often between ages 3 and 5.
- Word families like -at or -ing let children read new words by changing only the first sound.
About rhyming words
Two words rhyme when everything from the last vowel sound onward is the same: c-at and h-at, fr-og and l-og. The first part, the onset, changes; the ending, the rime, stays. Rhyming is one of the earliest ways children start to notice that words are made of smaller sounds, and many children enjoy it long before they learn letters, through songs, nursery rhymes and silly books.
Some rhyme families on this page are spelled the same way, like cat, hat and mat, or king, ring and sing. These are great for early reading, because once a child can read one word in the family, they can read the rest by changing only the first sound. Readers of English lean on these larger chunks a great deal, because English spelling is less regular at the level of single letters than the spelling of many other languages. Other families rhyme but are spelled differently: bee, key and sea; bear, chair and square; blue, shoe and two. These are useful for listening games, and they show children that rhyme is about sound, not about how a word looks.
Start with listening. Say two words and ask whether they rhyme, then ask your child to finish a rhyme: cat, hat, m... Once that is easy, ask them to make up a rhyme of their own; silly made-up rhymes like cat and zat count, because they show your child can hear the ending. Some children find rhyming hard for longer than their friends. That is not a diagnosis of anything, but along with other signs such as trouble learning letter sounds, it can be a reason to try a reading screening.
Rhyming words in sentences
Practice sentences built from words on this list.
- The cat in the hat sat on a mat.
- A frog on a log sat in the fog.
- I see a bee in the tree.
- A snake is by the lake.
- The king can sing on a swing.
- Put the spoon on the moon.
- A bear sat on a chair.
- Two blue shoes are at the zoo.
Common mix-ups with rhyming words
Matching the first sound instead of the end (cat and cup)
Young children often think words that start the same rhyme. Say the words slowly and stretch the ending: c-aaat, h-aaat. Ask: do they sound the same at the end?
Thinking words must look alike to rhyme
Once children can read, they may say bear and chair do not rhyme because the spelling is different. Close your eyes and listen together. Rhyme lives in the ear, not on the page.
Near rhymes (cat and cap)
Words that share a vowel but not the final sound are close, but they do not rhyme. Practise pairs such as cat and hat (rhyme) versus cat and cap (no rhyme), and let your child be the judge.
Rhyming words activities
Rhyme or not?
Say two words. If they rhyme, your child gives a thumbs up; if not, a thumbs down. Mix easy pairs such as cat and hat with tricky ones such as cat and cap. Keep it quick and playful.
Rhyme bag
Put small objects or picture cards in a bag: a toy car, a star, a shoe, a spoon. Your child pulls one out and says a word that rhymes with it. Real objects make it easier for younger children.
Finish the rhyme
Read a simple rhyming book and pause before the last word of a line: the cat sat on the... Your child fills in the rhyme. Nursery rhymes and books with strong rhythm work best.
Family flip book
Write a rime such as -at or -ing on a strip of card, and single letters on smaller cards to place in front of it. Your child flips through the letters and reads each new word: cat, hat, mat, rat. Keep made-up ones as well; they still rhyme.
Rhyming words: frequently asked questions
What are rhyming words?
Words that end with the same sound, such as cat and hat, frog and log, or bee and tree. The matching part starts at the last vowel sound.
At what age can children rhyme?
Many children can hear whether two words rhyme somewhere between ages 3 and 5, and make their own rhymes a little later. Children vary a lot, and regular play with songs and rhyming books helps.
Why is rhyming important for reading?
Rhyming helps children notice that words are made of smaller sound parts. Word families like -at and -ing also let them read new words by changing just the first sound.
Do rhyming words have to be spelled the same?
No. Rhyme is about sound. Bear, chair and square rhyme even though they are spelled differently, while words that look alike, like cow and snow, do not rhyme.
Practise next
- At family wordsThe -at family is usually the very first word family children learn: cat, hat, mat and sat all end in the same two letters. Hear each word, read the sentences and try the game.
- Ig family wordsBig, dig, pig and wig all end in -ig, the first short i family most children learn. Hear each word, see how -ig works in longer words, and play the game.
- Op family wordsHop, mop, pop and top are the first -op words, and stop, shop and lollipop follow. Hear every word in the family, read the sentences and play the game.
- Nonsense wordsNonsense words are made-up words like vap, mip and blom. Because a child has never seen them, the only way to read them is to sound them out. Hear every word, try the sentences, and play the game.