Phonics Double Consonants Worksheets

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15 words from 3 lists, sort by list, on 1 page and 1 page of answers, Letter portrait.

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Add an empty row to write without help Show a dot where each letter starts Add a "Name" and "Date" line at the top Add a fourth line where the tails of g, j, p, q and y end Add an answer key as the last page

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The spelling lists

List 1: ff at the end 8

cliff Short i, then ff: two f's, one sound.
gruff Short u, then ff: two f's, one sound.
huff Short u, then ff: two f's, one sound.
off Short o, then ff: two f's, one sound.
puff Short u, then ff: two f's, one sound.
scuff Short u, then ff: two f's, one sound.
staff Short a, then ff: two f's, one sound.
whiff Short i, then ff: two f's, one sound.

List 2: ll at the end 8

bell Short e, then ll: two l's, one sound.
chill Short i, then ll: two l's, one sound.
drill Short i, then ll: two l's, one sound.
hill Short i, then ll: two l's, one sound.
shell Short e, then ll: two l's, one sound.
skull Short u, then ll: two l's, one sound.
smell Short e, then ll: two l's, one sound.
spell Short e, then ll: two l's, one sound.

List 3: ss at the end 8

chess Short e, then ss: two s's, one sound.
cross Short o, then ss: two s's, one sound.
dress Short e, then ss: two s's, one sound.
glass Short a, then ss: two s's, one sound.
grass Short a, then ss: two s's, one sound.
mess Short e, then ss: two s's, one sound.
moss Short o, then ss: two s's, one sound.
press Short e, then ss: two s's, one sound.

Show all 160 words (136 more)

List 4: zz as in buzz 8

buzz Two z's, one sound, at the end, after u.
buzzer Two z's, one sound, between u and er.
dazzle Two z's, one sound, between a and le.
fizz Two z's, one sound, at the end, after i.
frizz Two z's, one sound, at the end, after i.
jazz Two z's, one sound, at the end, after a.
nozzle Two z's, one sound, between o and le.
sizzle Two z's, one sound, between i and le.

List 5: bb as in rabbit 8

bubble One b sound, two letters: bb, between u and le.
cabbage One b sound, two letters: bb, between a and age.
pebble One b sound, two letters: bb, between e and le.
rabbit One b sound, two letters: bb, between a and it.
ribbon One b sound, two letters: bb, between i and on.
rubber One b sound, two letters: bb, between u and er.
scribble One b sound, two letters: bb, between i and le.
wobble One b sound, two letters: bb, between o and le.

List 6: dd as in middle 8

hidden One d sound, two letters: dd, between i and en.
middle One d sound, two letters: dd, between i and le.
paddle One d sound, two letters: dd, between a and le.
puddle One d sound, two letters: dd, between u and le.
riddle One d sound, two letters: dd, between i and le.
saddle One d sound, two letters: dd, between a and le.
sudden One d sound, two letters: dd, between u and en.
teddy One d sound, two letters: dd, between e and y.

List 7: tt as in kitten 8

bottle One t sound, two letters: tt, between o and le.
bottom One t sound, two letters: tt, between o and om.
butter One t sound, two letters: tt, between u and er.
button One t sound, two letters: tt, between u and on.
cotton One t sound, two letters: tt, between o and on.
kettle One t sound, two letters: tt, between e and le.
kitten One t sound, two letters: tt, between i and en.
mitten One t sound, two letters: tt, between i and en.

List 8: double, add ing 8

begging Beg ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the g doubles before ing.
grabbing Grab ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the b doubles before ing.
humming Hum ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the m doubles before ing.
jogging Jog ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the g doubles before ing.
rubbing Rub ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the b doubles before ing.
scrubbing Scrub ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the b doubles before ing.
trimming Trim ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the m doubles before ing.
tugging Tug ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the g doubles before ing.

List 9: pp as in happy 8

apple One p sound, two letters: pp, between a and le.
copper One p sound, two letters: pp, between o and er.
happen One p sound, two letters: pp, between a and en.
happy One p sound, two letters: pp, between a and y.
hippo One p sound, two letters: pp, between i and o.
ripple One p sound, two letters: pp, between i and le.
slipper One p sound, two letters: pp, between i and er.
supper One p sound, two letters: pp, between u and er.

List 10: nn as in dinner 8

banner One n sound, two letters: nn, between a and er.
bunny One n sound, two letters: nn, between u and y.
channel One n sound, two letters: nn, between a and el.
dinner One n sound, two letters: nn, between i and er.
penny One n sound, two letters: nn, between e and y.
sunny One n sound, two letters: nn, between u and y.
tunnel One n sound, two letters: nn, between u and el.
winner One n sound, two letters: nn, between i and er.

List 11: ll as in jelly 8

collar One l sound, two letters: ll, between o and ar.
dollar One l sound, two letters: ll, between o and ar.
gallon One l sound, two letters: ll, between a and on.
jelly One l sound, two letters: ll, between e and y.
silly One l sound, two letters: ll, between i and y.
trolley One l sound, two letters: ll, between o and ey.
valley One l sound, two letters: ll, between a and ey.
village One l sound, two letters: ll, between i and age.

List 12: double, add ed 8

begged Beg plus ed: the g doubles first.
dragged Drag plus ed: the g doubles first.
patted Pat plus ed: the t doubles first.
slipped Slip plus ed: the p doubles first.
tapped Tap plus ed: the p doubles first.
tripped Trip plus ed: the p doubles first.
tugged Tug plus ed: the g doubles first.
zipped Zip plus ed: the p doubles first.

List 13: rr as in cherry 8

arrive One r sound, two letters: rr, between a and ive.
barrel One r sound, two letters: rr, between a and el.
berry One r sound, two letters: rr, between e and y.
cherry One r sound, two letters: rr, between e and y.
mirror One r sound, two letters: rr, between i and or.
narrow One r sound, two letters: rr, between a and ow.
parrot One r sound, two letters: rr, between a and ot.
sorry One r sound, two letters: rr, between o and y.

List 14: mm as in summer 8

comma One m sound, two letters: mm, between o and a.
common One m sound, two letters: mm, between o and on.
drummer One m sound, two letters: mm, between u and er.
glimmer One m sound, two letters: mm, between i and er.
hammer One m sound, two letters: mm, between a and er.
hammock One m sound, two letters: mm, between a and ock.
mammal One m sound, two letters: mm, between a and al.
summer One m sound, two letters: mm, between u and er.

List 15: ss as in lesson 8

blossom One s sound, two letters: ss, between o and om.
classic One s sound, two letters: ss, between a and ic.
fossil One s sound, two letters: ss, between o and il.
glossy One s sound, two letters: ss, between o and y.
lesson One s sound, two letters: ss, between e and on.
message One s sound, two letters: ss, between e and age.
passage One s sound, two letters: ss, between a and age.
vessel One s sound, two letters: ss, between e and el.

List 16: gg as in giggle 8

foggy One g sound, two letters: gg, between o and y.
giggle One g sound, two letters: gg, between i and le.
juggle One g sound, two letters: gg, between u and le.
luggage One g sound, two letters: gg, between u and age.
nugget One g sound, two letters: gg, between u and et.
soggy One g sound, two letters: gg, between o and y.
struggle One g sound, two letters: gg, between u and le.
wiggle One g sound, two letters: gg, between i and le.

List 17: ff as in waffle 8

coffee One f sound, two letters: ff, between o and ee.
effort One f sound, two letters: ff, between e and ort.
offer One f sound, two letters: ff, between o and er.
office One f sound, two letters: ff, between o and ice.
puffin One f sound, two letters: ff, between u and in.
shuffle One f sound, two letters: ff, between u and le.
traffic One f sound, two letters: ff, between a and ic.
waffle One f sound, two letters: ff, between a and le.

List 18: all as in ball 8

ball Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.
call Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.
fall Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.
hall Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.
mall Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.
small Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.
stall Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.
tall Here a says aw, and two l's end the word.

List 19: more double, ing 8

chatting Chat ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the t doubles before ing.
dragging Drag ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the g doubles before ing.
flipping Flip ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the p doubles before ing.
grinning Grin ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the n doubles before ing.
knitting Knit ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the t doubles before ing.
snapping Snap ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the p doubles before ing.
spinning Spin ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the n doubles before ing.
wrapping Wrap ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the p doubles before ing.

List 20: more ss at the end 8

bless Short e, then ss: two s's, one sound.
brass Short a, then ss: two s's, one sound.
floss Short o, then ss: two s's, one sound.
guess Short e, then ss: two s's, one sound.
less Short e, then ss: two s's, one sound.
loss Short o, then ss: two s's, one sound.
miss Short i, then ss: two s's, one sound.
toss Short o, then ss: two s's, one sound.

How this list was compiled: Our own selection and grouping of 160 English words with a doubled consonant, twenty lists of eight, one double and one place to a list, with our own hints: ff, ll, ss and zz at the end of a word; all as in ball; bb, dd, ff, gg, ll, mm, nn, pp, rr, ss and tt in the middle; and the last letter doubled before -ing and -ed. The letters left out of every word are the doubled letters. Every word, and the base of every -ing and -ed word, has an English entry at https://en.wiktionary.org/ (license CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-10-03. The words of the four lists that end in ff, ll and ss were checked the same day in the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary, a record of General American pronunciation (https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict): each has one syllable in every listed pronunciation, and a short vowel in all but off, cross, moss, loss and toss, where the dictionary gives the vowel of caught and Wiktionary gives American speech both that vowel and the short o of cot; each word of the all list is listed with the vowel of ball. Every base of the -ing and -ed lists ends in one vowel letter and one consonant. The rules were read on 2026-10-03: at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_orthography, that doubled consonants usually show that the vowel before them is short, that ff, ll, ss and zz often end a word with a short vowel right before them, and that a one-syllable word ending in one short vowel and one consonant doubles the consonant when a suffix is added; at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_verbs, the same doubling before -ed and -ing (ship, shipped; run, running), with x among the letters left single; and in How Words Cast Their Spell, American Educator, Winter 2008-2009, page 11 (https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/joshi.pdf), that the name floss rule is used in first grade teaching for the doubled f, l and s after a short vowel, with z added later. Spellings are American. No published word list or reading program was copied. Licence: own work

How it works

The sheet on show sorts fifteen short words that end in ff, ll or ss. Twenty lists of eight go on to zz, doubles in the middle of a word (rabbit, kitten) and doubling before -ing and -ed.

Read the full guide

Phonics floss rule worksheet: ff, ll, ss, zz

Lists 1 to 3 hold one-syllable words with a short vowel and then ff, ll or ss: puff, bell, dress. List 4 adds zz (buzz, jazz), List 20 more ss words, and List 18 the all words (ball, small), where the a is not short.

Doubles in the middle and before an ending

Eleven lists take one double in the middle of a word each: bb in rabbit, dd in middle, tt in kitten, on to ff in waffle. Lists 8, 12 and 19 double the last letter before -ing or -ed: rub, rubbing; tap, tapped. Missing letters, under What goes on the sheet, blanks the double: ra__it.

A doubled consonant usually shows that the vowel before it is short: compare dinner with diner.
Change the list under More options, Word list. A sort takes the list on show and the two after it.

Questions and answers

What is the floss rule?

A classroom name for a spelling pattern: a one-syllable word with a short vowel often ends in a doubled f, l, s or z, as in puff, bell, dress and buzz. Floss is such a word itself.

Which lists make double consonant worksheets 2nd grade classes can use?

The grade is our suggestion, not a school's list. Lists 1 to 3, 18 and 20 hold one-syllable words; rabbit, kitten and dinner are in the middle lists; scribble, luggage and struggle are among the longest.

Why does rub become rubbing?

A one-syllable word that ends in one short vowel and one consonant doubles that consonant before -ing or -ed: rub, rubbing; tap, tapped. X is not doubled. Lists 8 and 19 hold -ing words made that way and List 12 -ed words.

Why is ball on a list of its own?

Ball, call and small end in a doubled l, like bell and hill, but the a before it is not short: it says aw. List 18 keeps those words apart from the short-vowel lists.

The spelling lists

List 1: ff at the end 8

List 2: ll at the end 8

List 3: ss at the end 8

List 4: zz as in buzz 8

List 5: bb as in rabbit 8

List 6: dd as in middle 8

List 7: tt as in kitten 8

List 8: double, add ing 8

List 9: pp as in happy 8

List 10: nn as in dinner 8

List 11: ll as in jelly 8

List 12: double, add ed 8

List 13: rr as in cherry 8

List 14: mm as in summer 8

List 15: ss as in lesson 8

List 16: gg as in giggle 8

List 17: ff as in waffle 8

List 18: all as in ball 8

List 19: more double, ing 8

List 20: more ss at the end 8

How it works

Phonics floss rule worksheet: ff, ll, ss, zz

Doubles in the middle and before an ending

Questions and answers

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