Ck Worksheets: When to Write ck and When to Write k

Words print with their ck left out; under More options, Word list adds k and c lists to compare.

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Made at homeroomtools.comList 1: ck after short aWord boxWrite the missing letters. Then write the whole word.1.2.3.4.5.6.Spelling: missing lettersslackstackshackquacklackjackquastashajalasla
Made at homeroomtools.comList 1: ck after short aWrite the missing letters. Then write the whole word.1.2.3.4.5.6.Spelling: missing lettersAnswer keyquackstackshackjacklackslack
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6 words (List 1: ck after short a), missing letters, on 1 page and 1 page of answers, Letter portrait.

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The spelling lists

List 1: ck after short a 6

  • jack In jack a short a comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • lack In lack a short a comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • quack In quack a short a comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck. The qu at the start says kw.
  • shack In shack a short a comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • slack In slack a short a comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • stack In stack a short a comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.

List 2: ck after short e 6

  • check In check a short e comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • deck In deck a short e comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • neck In neck a short e comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • peck In peck a short e comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • speck In speck a short e comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • wreck In wreck a short e comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck. The w at the start is silent.
Show all 72 words (60 more)

List 3: ck after short i 6

  • click In click a short i comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • flick In flick a short i comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • quick In quick a short i comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck. The qu at the start says kw.
  • sick In sick a short i comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • thick In thick a short i comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • wick In wick a short i comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.

List 4: ck after short o 6

  • clock In clock a short o comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • rock In rock a short o comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • shock In shock a short o comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • smock In smock a short o comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • sock In sock a short o comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • stock In stock a short o comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.

List 5: ck after short u 6

  • duck In duck a short u comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • luck In luck a short u comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • puck In puck a short u comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • struck In struck a short u comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • truck In truck a short u comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.
  • tuck In tuck a short u comes right before the k sound, so it is spelled ck.

List 6: k after a consonant 6

  • desk In desk the k sound follows the consonant s, so it is k alone.
  • fork In fork the k sound follows the consonant r, so it is k alone.
  • mask In mask the k sound follows the consonant s, so it is k alone.
  • milk In milk the k sound follows the consonant l, so it is k alone.
  • silk In silk the k sound follows the consonant l, so it is k alone.
  • tusk In tusk the k sound follows the consonant s, so it is k alone.

List 7: k after two vowels 6

  • beak In beak two vowel letters, ea, come before the k sound, so it is k alone.
  • creek In creek two vowel letters, ee, come before the k sound, so it is k alone.
  • leak In leak two vowel letters, ea, come before the k sound, so it is k alone.
  • peek In peek two vowel letters, ee, come before the k sound, so it is k alone.
  • seek In seek two vowel letters, ee, come before the k sound, so it is k alone.
  • speak In speak two vowel letters, ea, come before the k sound, so it is k alone.

List 8: ke after a long vowel 6

  • broke In broke the o is long, so the ending is ke: k and a silent e.
  • hike In hike the i is long, so the ending is ke: k and a silent e.
  • like In like the i is long, so the ending is ke: k and a silent e.
  • poke In poke the o is long, so the ending is ke: k and a silent e.
  • spoke In spoke the o is long, so the ending is ke: k and a silent e.
  • strike In strike the i is long, so the ending is ke: k and a silent e.

List 9: c at the start 6

  • cart Cart starts with c: before a the k sound is written c.
  • cave Cave starts with c: before a the k sound is written c.
  • cold Cold starts with c: before o the k sound is written c.
  • cone Cone starts with c: before o the k sound is written c.
  • corn Corn starts with c: before o the k sound is written c.
  • curl Curl starts with c: before u the k sound is written c.

List 10: k at the start 6

  • kelp Kelp starts with k: before e a c would sound like s.
  • kept Kept starts with k: before e a c would sound like s.
  • key Key starts with k: before e a c would sound like s.
  • kind Kind starts with k: before i a c would sound like s.
  • kite Kite starts with k: before i a c would sound like s.
  • kitten Kitten starts with k: before i a c would sound like s.

List 11: ck in the middle 6

  • bucket Bucket has two syllables. The first has a short u, so the k sound in the middle is ck.
  • chicken Chicken has two syllables. The first has a short i, so the k sound in the middle is ck.
  • jacket Jacket has two syllables. The first has a short a, so the k sound in the middle is ck.
  • pocket Pocket has two syllables. The first has a short o, so the k sound in the middle is ck.
  • rocket Rocket has two syllables. The first has a short o, so the k sound in the middle is ck.
  • ticket Ticket has two syllables. The first has a short i, so the k sound in the middle is ck.

List 12: c at the end 6

  • attic Attic has two syllables and ends in the k sound, written c alone after i.
  • comic Comic has two syllables and ends in the k sound, written c alone after i.
  • magic Magic has two syllables and ends in the k sound, written c alone after i.
  • music Music has two syllables and ends in the k sound, written c alone after i.
  • picnic Picnic has two syllables and ends in the k sound, written c alone after i.
  • topic Topic has two syllables and ends in the k sound, written c alone after i.

How this list was compiled: Our own selection and grouping of 72 English words for the k sound: five lists of words that end in ck, one for each short vowel, then lists that end in k after a consonant, k after two vowel letters and ke after a long vowel, words that start with c and with k, words with ck in the middle, and two-syllable words that end in c. The letters left out of every word are the letters that spell its k sound. Every ck word was checked by script on 2026-10-01 in two places: the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary, a record of General American pronunciation (https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict), where a short vowel must stand right before the k sound in every listed pronunciation, and the word's own entry at https://en.wiktionary.org/, whose rhymes key must show the same short vowel. The other lists were checked as spellings against the same two sources. The rule that ck follows a short vowel and k follows a consonant or a vowel team is as given at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonics (short vowel plus consonant patterns), and that c stands before a, o and u while it sounds like s before e, i and y at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_C, both read on 2026-10-01. Spellings are American. No published word list or reading programme was copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These ck worksheets open on six short a words that end in ck: quack, stack, shack, jack, lack and slack. Each prints with the ck left out. Word list, under More options, has ck after every short vowel, then k and c lists.

Read the full guide

The ck c k worksheet: sort by spelling

Open More options and choose Sort by list from List 5. It mixes ck after short u with k after a consonant (milk, desk) and k after two vowels (peek, leak), to write under three headings. The pattern to spot: straight after a short vowel the ending is ck; after a consonant or two vowel letters it is k.

Is ck a blend?

People look for ck blend worksheets, but ck is a digraph: two letters, one sound. In a blend such as st you hear both. Lists 9 and 10 set c against k at the start of a word: cold, corn and cart, then kite, key and kept.

  • Lists 11 and 12 are two-syllable words: ck in the middle (pocket, bucket) and c alone at the end (picnic, magic).
  • The print ends with the answer key. To drop it, untick Add an answer key as the last page under More options.
  • In wreck the w is silent, and in quick and quack the qu says kw. The hints under the tool say so.

Questions and answers

When do you write ck and when k?

Write ck at the end of a word straight after a short vowel: neck, clock, duck. After a consonant (milk), after two vowel letters (peek) or when a long vowel takes a silent e (like), the sound is written k.

Why do cat and kite start with different letters?

Before a, o and u the k sound is written c: cart, cold, curl. Before e and i a c would sound like s, as in city, so the word starts with k: key, kite, kept.

Do the ck worksheets print with answers?

Five sheets do: Missing letters, Word shapes, Unscramble, ABC order and Sort by list. The key is the last page, with every ck written in. Trace and write and Write a sentence have nothing to mark.

Can I type my own ck words?

Yes, up to 20, one to a line, in Your spelling words. A typed word loses about one letter in three, picked at random, so its blank may not be the ck. Word shapes and Unscramble treat typed words like ours.

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