Help your clients practice divergent naming categories with these comprehensive lists. This resource provides structured category-based naming exercises to improve verbal fluency and word retrieval skills. Organized by difficulty level, the list includes:
- Basic Level – broad categories
- Moderate Level – subcategories
- High Level – categories + attributes
Perfect for SLPs, educators, and caregivers, these divergent naming categories support cognitive-linguistic and expressive language goals. For more activities, check out my Practice Activities page and Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Basic- Broad Categories Mid- Subcategories High- Categories + Attributes
- Animals
- Foods
- Drinks
- Cities
- Toys
- Hobbies
- Jobs
- Musical instruments
- Types of transportation
- Clothing items
- Sports
- Tools
- Household items
- Body parts
- Weather types
- Outdoor activities
- Furniture
- School subjects
- Countries
- Types of plants
- Colors
- School supplies
- Holidays
- Emotions
- Desserts
- Things you use in a kitchen
- Shapes
- Continents
- Planets
- Types of housing
- Things people collect
- Places
- Meats
- Utensils
- School supplies
- Art supplies
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Mammals
- Ocean animals
- Insects
- Chocolate desserts
- Birds
- Breakfast foods
- Vehicles with wheels
- Musical instruments with strings
- Outdoor sports
- Fast food restaurants
- Tools used for cutting
- Types of shoes
- Board games
- Types of flowers
- Breeds of dogs
- Winter clothing items
- U.S. States
- Countries in Europe
- Farm animals
- Types of bread
- Types of soup
- Types of nuts
- Breakfast cereals
- Spices or seasonings
- Types of cheese
- Types of sandwiches
- Insects that fly
- Insects that crawl
- Reptiles
- Countries in Asia
- Countries in Africa
- Zoo animals
- Farm animals
- Carnival rides
- Types of medical professionals
- Animals that fly
- Animals that can’t fly
- Kitchen items
- Bathroom items
- Bedroom items
- Christmas decorations
- Easter decorations
- Halloween decorations
- Valentine’s decorations
- Patriotic holidays
- Frozen desserts
- Warm desserts
- Red fruits
- Green fruits
- Drinks that are hot
- Drinks that are cold
- Sports played with a bat
- Green vegetables
- Yellow vegetables
- Words that start with ‘S’
- Words that start with ‘A’
- Jobs that require a uniform
- Spicy foods
- Animals that hibernate
- Things that melt
- Items needed to get ready for bed
- Items needed to get ready for school
- Items needed to get ready for work
- Animals that lay eggs
- Small dog breeds
- Large dog breeds
- Words that rhyme with ‘cat’
- Large ocean animals
- Small ocean animals
- Beach toys
- U.S. cities
- Cities in Asia
- Cities in Africa
- Cities in Europe
- Large farm animals
- Small farm animals
- Professionals in a hospital
- Professionals in a school
- Items for baking
- Items for cleaning house
- Names that start with ‘E’
- Names that start with ‘J’