Long O Words Spelled OA and OW – Boat, Road, Snow, Grow

All 105 words

List 1: oa and ow, the first 20 (boat, snow) 20

blow You can blow gently to cool the soup.
boat A red boat bobbed beside the dock.
coach Our coach brings oranges to every game.
coat A coat of frost covered the pumpkins.
crow A crow cawed from the telephone wire.
float Corks float on top of the water.
glow Fireflies glow above the lawn at dusk.
goat The goat nibbled the corner of my map.
grow Sunflowers grow taller than the fence.
loaf Slice the loaf after it cools.
low The bridge is too low for the truck.
oak Squirrels nest in the old oak.
road The dirt road ends at a farm gate.
show The talent show ended with a tap dance.
slow The slow snail crossed the path by lunchtime.
snow The plow pushed snow into tall banks.
soap Lavender soap scented the whole cabin.
toast Cinnamon toast is my weekend treat.
window A paper star hung in the bakery window.
yellow The yellow raincoat was easy to spot.

Show all 105 words (85 more)

List 2: more oa in one syllable (throat) 20

boast He did not boast about his blue ribbon.
cloak Fog wrapped the harbor like a cloak.
coal The old train burned coal for steam.
coast Fog rolled in along the coast.
croak We heard a frog croak near the reeds.
foal The foal stayed close to its mother.
foam White foam gathered where waves met the rocks.
gloat It is unkind to gloat after a win.
goal The puck slid past the goal post.
groan The class let out a groan at the pun.
load Carry one load of firewood to the porch.
loan The museum has the painting on loan.
moan The old stairs moan when you step on them.
oat Each oat flake soaked up the milk.
oath The scouts took an oath to help others.
poach You can poach an egg in simmering water.
roast We roast corn over the campfire.
soak A sudden shower will soak the laundry.
throat The frog puffed out its throat.
toad A toad hid under the flowerpot.

List 3: more ow in one syllable (throw) 12

blown The gate was blown open by the wind.
bowl Fill the bowl with sliced peaches.
flow Rivers flow downhill toward the sea.
flown That pilot has flown through many storms.
grown Moss has grown over the stone steps.
growth We measured the growth of our bean plants.
know Sailors know the stars by name.
known The town is known for its cherry pies.
own Each camper carries their own canteen.
stow Please stow your backpack under the seat.
throw Please throw the ball back to the pitcher.
thrown The ball was thrown from center field.

List 4: oa in longer words (oatmeal) 20

afloat The raft stayed afloat through the rapids.
approach Deer approach the pond at dawn.
charcoal The artist sketched the barn in charcoal.
coaster A cork coaster protects the table.
coastline Cliffs line the rocky coastline.
lifeboat The crew lowered a lifeboat over the side.
oatmeal Brown sugar melted on the oatmeal.
overcoat He buttoned his overcoat against the wind.
railroad The railroad runs beside the river.
raincoat My raincoat has a hood and deep pockets.
roadside Wildflowers bloom along the roadside.
sailboat A sailboat tilted in the strong breeze.
soapy Rinse the soapy dishes in the sink.
speedboat A speedboat raced across the lake.
stagecoach The stagecoach rattled into the dusty town.
steamboat A steamboat paddled up the wide river.
toadstool A spotted toadstool grew beside the log.
toaster Crumbs collected under the toaster.
tugboat A tugboat guided the barge into the harbor.
unload Help me unload the groceries from the car.

List 5: ow ending a longer word (pillow) 20

arrow The arrow on the sign points left.
below Fish gathered just below the dock.
borrow May I borrow your green marker?
bungalow They rented a bungalow near the beach.
elbow Paint dripped from the brush to my elbow.
fellow A fellow camper shared his map.
follow Just follow the blue signs to the gym.
hollow Bees built a hive in the hollow log.
mellow The cello has a mellow sound.
minnow One silver minnow flashed in the bucket.
narrow The narrow bridge fits one car at a time.
pillow A feather poked out of the pillow.
rainbow Oil on the puddle made a rainbow swirl.
scarecrow Crows perched on the scarecrow anyway.
shadow My shadow stretched across the playground.
shallow Herons wade in the shallow marsh.
sparrow A sparrow pecked at crumbs under the bench.
swallow The pelican tried to swallow a huge fish.
tomorrow The book fair opens tomorrow morning.
willow A willow leaned over the duck pond.

List 6: ow in the first part (snowman) 13

bowling We went bowling for my cousin's birthday.
crowbar A crowbar pried the lid off the crate.
owner The cafe owner knows every customer.
rowboat We took the rowboat out to the island.
showcase Trophies fill the showcase by the office.
slowly The drawbridge slowly lifted for the tall ship.
slowpoke Hurry up, slowpoke, the bus is here.
snowball The snowball splattered on the fence.
snowflake Each paper snowflake had six points.
snowman The snowman leaned more each sunny day.
snowstorm School closed early for the snowstorm.
snowy A snowy owl blinked from the fence.
stowaway A stowaway mouse rode in the hay wagon.

How this list was compiled: Words chosen and sorted into 6 lists for Homeroom Tools. The choice, the sorting and the sentences are ours; no published list, program or workbook was opened or copied. SOUND AND SPELLING: every word was looked up on 9 October 2026 in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q= plus the word), which gives the oa or ow of each a long o (ō) and no second spelling on the headword line, and in Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0), where each has an English entry. Slowly and owner are printed in the entries for slow and own. Borrow and tomorrow have a second pronunciation that changes the vowel before the r and leaves the ow as it is. SOUND-ALIKES: road (rode, rowed), slow (sloe), low (lo), coal (cole, kohl), moan (mown), groan and grown, loan (lone), load (lode), toad (toed, towed), know (no), flow (floe), throw (throe), thrown (throne), bowl (boll). The dictionary gives the words of each pair one pronunciation (rowed, towed and mown under row, tow and mow); the sentence read with the word settles which one is meant. LEFT OUT: bow, row, sow and mow (each spelling is said two ways), board, roar, soar and oar (the dictionary writes oa before r as ôr), broad (ô), cocoa (kō-kō, with no sound for the a) and lawnmower (also lawn mower). GRADES: the lists suggested for 2nd grade are our choice and no standard's. The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Reading: Foundational Skills, grade 2, standard 3b (know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams) names no words (https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RF/2/, read 9 October 2026). Spellings are American. Licence: own work

How it works

These long o words spelled oa and ow start with a mixed list of 20, ten of each: boat, road and soap, then snow, grow and window. Five more lists take one spelling each, 105 words in all.

Read the full guide

Oa ow spelling words in six lists

After the mixed list, Lists 2 and 3 stay with one syllable: throat, coast, toad, then throw, bowl, grown. List 4 is oa in longer words (oatmeal, railroad), List 5 is ow ending a longer word (pillow, tomorrow), and List 6 is ow in the first part: snowman, slowly, rowboat.

Rowboat has both spellings: ow in row, oa in boat.

Questions and answers

Which oa and ow spelling words are for 2nd grade?

We suggest Lists 1 to 3: one-syllable words, plus window and yellow. The Common Core asks 2nd graders to know more of the common vowel teams and names no words, so the choice is ours.

When is long o spelled oa and when ow?

On these lists oa never ends a word: it starts one or sits in the middle, as in oak and boat. Ow ends the word or its first part, as in snow, pillow and snowman, or comes before n, l or th: own, bowl, growth.

Does ow always say long o?

No. Ow also says the sound in cow, town and flower. Bow, row and sow are said both ways, so they are left off these lists. The cow words are with the ou spelling words.

Why are board, roar and broad not here?

Their oa is not a long o. Before r the dictionary gives it the sound of or, as in board, roar and soar, and in broad it has the vowel of paw.