Long O Worksheets – Sort o_e, oa and ow, With Answer Key

The spelling lists

List 1: long o, o_e 8

cone One o, then n, then a silent e, after c.
drove One o, then v, then a silent e.
froze One o, then z, then a silent e.
phone One o, then n, then a silent e. The ph says f.
slope One o, then p, then a silent e. Take off the e and slope turns into slop.
spoke One o, then k, then a silent e.
stove One o, then v, then a silent e.
zone One o, then n, then a silent e.

List 2: long o, oa 8

boast The long o is oa, before st.
boat Two vowels side by side, o and a, spell the long o.
coal The long o is oa, between c and l.
croak The long o is oa, before k.
goal The long o is oa, between g and l.
groan The long o is oa. Grown, with ow, sounds the same.
moan The long o is oa, between m and n.
roam The long o is oa, between r and m.

Show all 48 words (32 more)

List 3: long o, ow 8

bowl The long o is ow, before l.
elbow It ends in ow, after lb.
low The word ends in ow, which says long o here.
pillow It ends in ow, after a double l.
rainbow Rain plus bow: it ends in ow.
shadow It ends in ow, after one d.
window The word ends in ow, which says long o here.
yellow It ends in ow, after a double l.

List 4: long o, oe 8

aloe The word ends in oe, after al.
doe The word ends in oe. Dough sounds the same.
goes Go adds es, so the long o is followed by e.
mistletoe The word ends in toe.
potatoes Potato adds es, so the long o is followed by e.
tiptoe Tip plus toe: the word ends in oe.
toe The word ends in oe. Tow, with ow, sounds the same.
tomatoes Tomato adds es, so the long o is followed by e.

List 5: long o, old and ost 8

almost Al plus most, with one l: the o says long o before st.
cold One o says long o before ld.
fold One o says long o before ld.
gold One o says long o before ld.
hold One o says long o before ld.
most One o says long o before st.
post One o says long o before st.
told One o says long o before ld.

List 6: long o, final o 8

also One o ends the word, after als.
banjo One o ends the word, after banj.
go One o ends the word and says long o.
hero One o ends the word, after her.
no One o ends the word. Know, with a silent k and ow, sounds the same.
radio One o ends the word, after radi.
so One o ends the word. Sew sounds the same.
zero One o ends the word, after zer.

How this list was compiled: Our own selection and grouping of 48 English words with a long o, six lists of eight, one spelling of the sound to a list (o_e, oa, ow, oe, o before ld and st, o at the end), with our own hints. The letters left out of every word are the letters that spell long o. Every word was checked by script on 2026-10-01 (hero on 2026-10-02) in two places: its entry in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (https://www.ahdictionary.com/), where every full pronunciation given must have a long o, and the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary, a record of General American pronunciation (https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict), where every listed pronunciation must have the same sound. Words in which ow says the sound of cow and now are left out, and so are bow, row and sow, which are said two ways, and piano, which has a pronunciation without a long o. Potatoes and tomatoes were checked through the plural printed in the entries for potato and tomato. Each hint that says two words sound the same names a pair with the same pronunciation in the pronouncing dictionary. Spellings are American. No published word list or reading program was copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These long o worksheets ask which letters spell the sound. The sheet on show sorts fifteen words under o_e, oa and ow. Further lists hold oe, o before ld or st, and o at the end of a word.

Read the full guide

Long o vowel team worksheets: oa, ow and oe

Open More options and set Word list to List 2. The sort then takes the three vowel teams and leaves silent e out: words such as boat and groan go under oa, bowl and yellow under ow, toe and tiptoe under oe. List 5 sorts cold and most against go and hero, with o_e as the third heading.

No cow, no now

In cow, now and down, ow says another sound, so those words are left off. Bow, row and sow are left off too, since each is said two ways. Every ow word here says long o: low, bowl, window, elbow, rainbow.

Potatoes and tomatoes sit on the oe list: the singular ends in o and the plural adds es.
The key is the last page of the print. To print the sheet alone, untick the key box under More options.
Missing letters blanks the long o spelling: st_v_ for stove, g__l for goal, pill__ for pillow.

Questions and answers

What are the long o spellings?

Six are on these lists: o_e as in stove, oa as in boat, ow as in low, oe as in toe, one o before ld or st as in cold and most, and one o at the end, as in go and zero.

Which vowel teams say long o?

Three are on these lists: oa, ow and oe. Oa sits inside the word, as in boat and goal; ow ends it, as in low and window, or comes before l in bowl; oe ends toe, doe and tiptoe.

Do the long o worksheets come with answers?

Yes, for five of the seven sheets: the sort, Missing letters, Word shapes, Unscramble and ABC order. Trace and write and Write a sentence print no key, since there is nothing to mark.

Can I use my own long o words?

Yes. Type up to 20 in Your spelling words, one to a line, and they take the place of our list. A sort needs headings, which only our lists have, so typed words print to trace on that sheet.

Long O Worksheets: o_e, oa or ow?