• 128 words

Long A Words

Words with the vowel sound of cake, sorted by the letters that spell it.

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The 20 words of this list. Add or change any. For your own list, press Clear first.

For a sentence, put it after a colon: rain: The rain fell all day. Up to 40 words.

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List 1: mixed spellings (cake, rain, play, baby, eight)

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.cakeDad sliced the lemon cake into wedges.
  2. 2.namePrint your name on the top line.
  3. 3.lakeMist drifted over the lake at sunrise.
  4. 4.savePlease save the last slice for Grandpa.
  5. 5.rainRain drummed on the tent all night.
  6. 6.snailA snail crept up the garden wall.
  7. 7.paintWe mixed blue paint with a little white.
  8. 8.chainThe bike chain slipped off its gear.
  9. 9.playTwo fox cubs play outside their den.
  10. 10.dayThe hottest day of July came early.
  11. 11.stayThe puppies stay close to their mother.
  12. 12.todayOur substitute teacher arrives today.
  13. 13.babyThe baby giggled at the spinning mobile.
  14. 14.paperTear the paper along the dotted line.
  15. 15.tableFour chairs fit around the kitchen table.
  16. 16.ladyA lady in a red coat waved.
  17. 17.eightThe recipe needs eight ripe plums.
  18. 18.theyAfter lunch they raced to the swings.
  19. 19.greatThe view from the tower was great.
  20. 20.breakCareful, that thin glass could break easily.

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Accents do not count: café may be typed as cafe, and the marks show how it is written.

Only voices built into this device are used, so the words are not sent to a speech service to be read. With no voice, a person reads the words from the last page of the test sheet.

Review test from several lists
Tick the lists to draw 10 words from

The words are mixed from the lists you tick, so a review test needs a read-aloud voice.

Next step More a_e words: fame, escape, pancakeNow the long o words: home, boat, snow

All 128 words

List 1: mixed spellings (cake, rain, play, baby, eight) 20

  • baby The baby giggled at the spinning mobile.
  • break Careful, that thin glass could break easily.
  • cake Dad sliced the lemon cake into wedges.
  • chain The bike chain slipped off its gear.
  • day The hottest day of July came early.
  • eight The recipe needs eight ripe plums.
  • great The view from the tower was great.
  • lady A lady in a red coat waved.
  • lake Mist drifted over the lake at sunrise.
  • name Print your name on the top line.
  • paint We mixed blue paint with a little white.
  • paper Tear the paper along the dotted line.
  • play Two fox cubs play outside their den.
  • rain Rain drummed on the tent all night.
  • save Please save the last slice for Grandpa.
  • snail A snail crept up the garden wall.
  • stay The puppies stay close to their mother.
  • table Four chairs fit around the kitchen table.
  • they After lunch they raced to the swings.
  • today Our substitute teacher arrives today.

List 2: a_e (gate) 20

  • ate The goat ate my math homework.
  • base She slid into second base feet first.
  • brave It was brave to sing alone.
  • cage The hamster ran laps inside its cage.
  • gate Latch the gate so the goats cannot wander.
  • grape One grape rolled off the plate.
  • made We made a fort from old boxes.
  • male A male cardinal has bright red feathers.
  • mane A brush smoothed the horse's tangled mane.
  • maze The mouse found cheese inside the maze.
  • pale The moon looked pale behind thin fog.
  • plane The plane climbed above the morning clouds.
  • sale The bakery had muffins on sale.
  • shape The cookie cutter has a star shape.
  • skate I learned to skate at the indoor rink.
  • tale The book retells a tale about a sly crow.
  • tape Use clear tape to seal the envelope.
  • waste Leaky faucets waste gallons of water.
  • wave A tall wave soaked our beach towels.
  • whale A blue whale surfaced beside the ship.

List 3: ai (sail) 20

  • braid She wore her hair in one long braid.
  • daily The dog needs a daily walk.
  • fingernail He chipped a fingernail on the zipper.
  • grain A single grain of rice stuck to my sleeve.
  • hail Hail bounced off the car hood.
  • jail The sheriff locked the jail door.
  • maid The hotel maid left fresh towels.
  • mail Mail the postcard before the trip ends.
  • mailbox A red flag stands up on the mailbox.
  • main The main entrance faces the parking lot.
  • pail The leaky roof dripped into a pail.
  • plain She chose a plain bagel with butter.
  • ponytail She pulled her hair into a ponytail.
  • raindrop A raindrop slid down the glass.
  • rainy We played board games on the rainy afternoon.
  • raise Farmers raise chickens in that long shed.
  • sail The white sail filled with wind.
  • tail The squirrel flicked its bushy tail.
  • waist The belt felt snug around his waist.
  • wait We had to wait behind a slow tractor.

List 4: ay (tray) 20

  • away The geese flew away before winter.
  • birthday My birthday party has a pirate theme.
  • clay We shaped bowls from soft red clay.
  • crayon The orange crayon snapped in two.
  • daydream It is easy to daydream on long bus rides.
  • daytime Stars are hard to see in the daytime.
  • driveway We drew chalk rockets on the driveway.
  • hay The horses munched hay in the barn.
  • haystack Kids climbed the haystack behind the barn.
  • maybe Maybe the keys fell under the couch.
  • pay I will pay for the tickets myself.
  • payday Mom buys pizza on payday.
  • playful The playful seal splashed the crowd.
  • playground Wood chips cover the playground.
  • pray Some families pray together before meals.
  • say What did the coach say at halftime?
  • spray Ocean spray dampened our jackets.
  • subway The subway rumbled under the street.
  • tray Carry the cups on a metal tray.
  • way Which way leads to the gym?

List 5: a ending a syllable (a-pron) 20

  • able Were you able to fix the zipper?
  • acorn An acorn bounced off the porch roof.
  • alien The alien in the cartoon had three eyes.
  • April Tulips bloom here in early April.
  • apron The chef wiped flour on her apron.
  • bacon We had bacon and waffles on Sunday.
  • cable Plug the cable into the charger.
  • cradle A doll rested in the tiny cradle.
  • gravy Pour warm gravy over the biscuits.
  • label Read the label on the soup can.
  • ladybug A ladybug landed on my thumb.
  • lazy The lazy cat slept through the storm.
  • maple The maple leaves turned red overnight.
  • nation A nation chooses its own flag.
  • nature We sketched leaves on our nature walk.
  • potato Bake the potato until the skin crisps.
  • radio An old radio crackled in the garage.
  • stable Three horses live in that stable.
  • stadium The stadium lights flickered on at dusk.
  • vacation We packed sunscreen for our beach vacation.

List 6: eigh, ei and ey (sleigh, vein, obey) 16

  • beige He chose beige paint for the hallway.
  • eighteen My cousin turns eighteen in March.
  • eighty My great-grandmother just turned eighty.
  • freight A long freight train blocked the crossing.
  • hey Hey, you dropped your mitten back there.
  • neighbor Our neighbor grows pumpkins every fall.
  • obey Good drivers obey every traffic sign.
  • prey The owl swooped down on its prey.
  • rein The rider tugged gently on one rein.
  • reindeer A reindeer herd grazed on the tundra.
  • sleigh Bells jingled on the horse-drawn sleigh.
  • survey Our class took a survey about pets.
  • veil The bride lifted her lace veil.
  • vein A thin vein runs through each leaf.
  • weigh Weigh the flour before you mix it.
  • weight Lift the weight with both arms.

List 7: ea, aigh and et (steak, straight, ballet) 12

  • ballet She practices ballet twice a week.
  • beret The painter wore a floppy blue beret.
  • bouquet He picked a bouquet of wildflowers.
  • breakable Wrap anything breakable in a towel.
  • chalet We rented a wooden chalet near the slopes.
  • crochet My aunt can crochet a scarf quickly.
  • daybreak The rooster crows at daybreak.
  • gourmet The gourmet chef tasted every sauce.
  • greatest That was the greatest catch of the game.
  • steak Dad grilled a steak for dinner.
  • straight Stand up straight for the photo.
  • straighten Please straighten the rug by the door.

How it works

These long a words open on a mixed list of 20 for a first test. Six more lists take the spellings in turn, 128 words in all, each with a sentence to read aloud.

Read the full guide

A long a words list for each spelling

List 2 is a with a silent e (gate, whale), List 3 ai (sail, raindrop) and List 4 ay (tray, crayon). In List 5 a single a ends a syllable: a-pron, ba-con, va-ca-tion. List 6 has eigh, ei and ey (sleigh, vein, obey). List 7 keeps the rare ones: ea in steak, aigh in straight, et in ballet.

  • Lists 2 and 3 hold eight sound-alike pairs, such as made and maid. The sentence read after each word tells which one to spell.

Questions and answers

What are words with long a sounds?

Words in which a vowel says the name of the letter a, as in cake, rain and play. The dictionary writes the sound ā. These lists spell it ten ways, from a_e and ai to the et of ballet.

Is the long a sound always spelled with an a?

No. Eight, vein, they and obey have no letter a: eigh, ei and ey spell the sound. In great, break and steak it is spelled ea.

When is long a spelled ai and when ay?

On these lists ai always comes before a consonant: sail, paint, raindrop. Ay ends a word or the first part of one: tray, crayon, playground.

Why are gray, vase and tomato not on the lists?

The American Heritage Dictionary gives gray a second spelling, grey, and gives vase and tomato a pronunciation without long a. Always, data and gauge are left out for the same two reasons.

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