Idiom Bingo
A whole-class listening game. Every student gets a different 5×5 card of idioms; you read clues from the caller sheet, students mark the matching idiom, and the first full line wins. Ready to print in about a minute, free, no account needed.
Make your free Idiom Bingo kit →
How to play
Goal: Be the first to complete a full line on your card: a row, a column or a diagonal. The FREE square in the middle counts for everyone.
- Give each student a card (every card is different) and something to mark squares with. The FREE square is already theirs.
- Read the calls from the caller sheet in order, ticking each one off.
- Students mark the idiom that matches what you read.
- First full row, column or diagonal shouts “Bingo!” — check their squares against your ticks.
Two levels
- Easy: you read the literal translation, a strong clue.
- Hard: you read the meaning, so students must know the idiom.
Ideas for your class
- Keep playing for a full grid after the first winner.
What you get
To print: A different 5×5 grid for every student (up to 60), with a FREE square in the middle, plus a caller sheet to read from and tick off. A4 or US Letter, in color or ink-saving black and white.
On a projector: play from one screen, or share it on a video call.
Online: students join from their own phones or laptops with a nickname, and you follow their progress live.
Example idioms
Every card shows the idiom, a word-for-word translation and the real meaning. A few French ones:
| French idiom | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Les carottes sont cuites | “The carrots are cooked” | It's too late, nothing can be done. |
| Poser un lapin | “To put down a rabbit” | To stand someone up on a date. |
| Avoir le cafard | “To have the cockroach” | To feel depressed or down. |
| Tomber dans les pommes | “To fall in the apples” | To faint; to pass out. |
For ESL classes, English idioms work the same way: spill the beans (to reveal a secret), under the weather (unwell; ill).
Which languages?
48 in all. There are enough idioms for every game in English (1,600+, great for ESL), French (900), Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Polish and Japanese, plus smaller sets in 37 more. You pick the language, a theme, or the exact idioms you want.
Questions
- Is it free?
- Yes, all of it. No account needed; an optional email sign-in keeps your sets on every device.
- Will a rude idiom end up in my kit?
- Not by chance: idioms tagged crude are never picked at random. You can still choose one by hand if you want it.
- What about student data?
- In online games students type a nickname only. Nothing is saved.
- Printing tips?
- Print at 100% scale with headers and footers turned off.
More idiom games
Idiom matching game · Idiom guessing game (Guesscards) · All classroom games · Tell us how it went