Eleven Plus — Word Skills

Compound words and hidden words

Build compound words from two word parts, find smaller words hidden inside longer ones, and spot words hidden across the JOIN between two separate words — a classic 11+ question type.

Back to Eleven Plus

💡Understand

A COMPOUND WORD joins two whole words into one (SUN + FLOWER = SUNFLOWER). A HIDDEN WORD can sit entirely inside a longer word, or be hidden ACROSS the join where two separate words meet — reading straight through the letters, ignoring the space between them.

“Hidden inside one word: CAT is hidden in SCATTER (s-CAT-ter). Hidden across a join: BAR is hidden in "the cab arrived" (ca-B-A-R-rived).”

In SCATTER, the letters C-A-T sit consecutively inside a single word. In "cab arrived", the letters B-A-R sit consecutively across the join between the two separate words 'cab' and 'arrived' — the space between them is simply ignored when reading the letter sequence.

🔍Spot it

What compound word or hidden word can you find?

Question 1

Join these two words into one compound word: RAIN + BOW

💡 RAIN and BOW combine directly into the single compound word RAINBOW.

Question 2

What three-letter word is hidden inside the word SCATTER?

💡 Reading through S-C-A-T-T-E-R, the letters C-A-T appear consecutively in the middle of the word.

Question 3

What word is hidden across the join in "the cab arrived"?

💡 Reading straight through 'cabarrived' as one letter sequence, B-A-R appears consecutively across the join.

🧠Think about it

Why does finding hidden words require you to completely IGNORE word breaks and spaces, reading only the raw sequence of letters?

✍️Try it

Find the hidden word.

What three-letter word for a body of water is hidden in the phrase "the sea is calm"?

Question 1

Which word is hidden, and where?

💡 Check first whether the word you're looking for is already sitting there as a whole word, before hunting across joins.

📝Practise

Build the compound word or find the hidden word.

Question 1

Join FOOT + BALL into one compound word.

💡 Simply combine the two words directly.

Question 2

What three-letter word is hidden inside CHATTER?

Question 3

Join SUN + SET into one compound word.

💡 Simply combine the two words directly.

Question 4

What word is hidden across the join in "the sofa rug"?

Question 5

In one word, what should you completely ignore when hunting for hidden words across a join?

💡 It's the key strategy explained in this lesson's Understand section.

Question 6

What three-letter word for an insect is hidden inside BEETLE?

🎯Apply

Read the passage, then answer the questions below.

Exam question: Find the word hidden inside or across the join in each item. 1. "the comic strip" — a three-letter word for a small recording device is hidden inside one of the words. 2. "a cab arrived" — a three-letter word for a place to get a drink is hidden across the join. 3. PLANET — a three-letter word meaning a fishing tool is hidden inside this single word.

Question 1

What word is hidden inside COMIC?

💡 Read through C-O-M-I-C and look for a small word in the middle.

Question 2

What word is hidden across the join in "a cab arrived"?

💡 Read 'cabarrived' as one continuous string, ignoring the space.

Question 3

What fishing-related word is hidden inside PLANET?

💡 Look at the last three letters of the word.

🏆Challenge

Write three phrases, each containing a different word hidden across the join between two words. Check each one carefully by writing out the full unbroken letter sequence before confirming your answer.

🔄Review

A quick mastery check — 3 questions.

Question 1

Join BACK + PACK into one compound word.

💡 Simply combine the two words directly.

Question 2

What three-letter word is hidden inside PLANET (a fishing tool)?

Question 3

The key skill for finding hidden words is to...