R Controlled Phonics Worksheet

Press Print worksheet for fifteen r-controlled words to sort under ar, or and er.

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Made at homeroomtools.comWord boxSort the words of the word box. Write each word under its heading.Spelling: sort by listList 1: ar as in starList 2: or as in cornList 3: er as in herhornharpcardtermnervenorthgermtornborncornherdbarnperchjarstar
Made at homeroomtools.comSort the words of the word box. Write each word under its heading.Spelling: sort by listAnswer keyList 1: ar as in starList 2: or as in cornList 3: er as in herjarbarnharpcardstarbornhornnorthtorncornherdgermtermperchnerve
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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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The spelling lists

List 1: ar as in star 8

  • barn A and r together say ar, between b and n.
  • card A and r together say ar, between c and d.
  • harp A and r together say ar, between h and p.
  • jar A and r together say ar, at the end, after j.
  • park A and r together say ar, between p and k.
  • star A and r together say ar, at the end, after st.
  • yard A and r together say ar, between y and d.
  • yarn A and r together say ar, between y and n.

List 2: or as in corn 8

  • born O and r together say or, between b and n.
  • corn O and r together say or, between c and n.
  • form O and r together say or, between f and m.
  • horn O and r together say or, between h and n.
  • north O and r together say or, between n and th.
  • porch O and r together say or, between p and ch.
  • storm O and r together say or, between st and m.
  • torn O and r together say or, between t and n.
Show all 160 words (144 more)

List 3: er as in her 8

  • fern E and r spell the er sound, between f and n.
  • germ E and r spell the er sound, between g and m.
  • her E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after h.
  • herd E and r spell the er sound, between h and d. Sound-alike: heard.
  • nerve E and r spell the er sound, between n and ve.
  • perch E and r spell the er sound, between p and ch.
  • term E and r spell the er sound, between t and m.
  • verb E and r spell the er sound, between v and b.

List 4: ar as in shark 8

  • charm A and r together say ar, between ch and m.
  • chart A and r together say ar, between ch and t.
  • march A and r together say ar, between m and ch.
  • scarf A and r together say ar, between sc and f.
  • shark A and r together say ar, between sh and k.
  • sharp A and r together say ar, between sh and p.
  • smart A and r together say ar, between sm and t.
  • start A and r together say ar, between st and t.

List 5: or as in horse 8

  • forty O and r together say or, between f and ty.
  • horse O and r together say or, between h and se. Sound-alike: hoarse.
  • sport O and r together say or, between sp and t.
  • stork O and r together say or, between st and k.
  • story O and r together say or, between st and y.
  • sword O and r together say or, between sw and d.
  • thorn O and r together say or, between th and n.
  • torch O and r together say or, between t and ch.

List 6: ur as in turn 8

  • blur U and r spell the er sound, at the end, after bl.
  • burn U and r spell the er sound, between b and n.
  • curb U and r spell the er sound, between c and b.
  • hurt U and r spell the er sound, between h and t.
  • nurse U and r spell the er sound, between n and se.
  • purse U and r spell the er sound, between p and se.
  • surf U and r spell the er sound, between s and f.
  • turn U and r spell the er sound, between t and n.

List 7: ar as in garden 8

  • artist A and r together say ar, at the start, before t.
  • carpet A and r together say ar, between c and pet.
  • carton A and r together say ar, between c and ton.
  • garden A and r together say ar, between g and den.
  • harvest A and r together say ar, between h and v.
  • marble A and r together say ar, between m and ble.
  • market A and r together say ar, between m and ket.
  • party A and r together say ar, between p and ty.

List 8: or as in morning 8

  • forest O and r together say or, between f and est.
  • morning O and r together say or, between m and n.
  • normal O and r together say or, between n and mal.
  • orbit O and r together say or, at the start, before bit.
  • organ O and r together say or, at the start, before gan.
  • popcorn O and r together say or, between pc and n.
  • report O and r together say or, between p and t.
  • uniform O and r together say or, between f and m.

List 9: air as in chair 8

  • chair Three letters, air, say the air of chair, at the end, after ch.
  • dairy Three letters, air, say the air of chair, between d and y.
  • fairy Three letters, air, say the air of chair, between f and y.
  • hair Three letters, air, say the air of chair, at the end, after h. Sound-alike: hare.
  • haircut Three letters, air, say the air of chair, between h and cut.
  • pair Three letters, air, say the air of chair, at the end, after p. Sound-alike: pear.
  • repair Three letters, air, say the air of chair, at the end, after p.
  • stair Three letters, air, say the air of chair, at the end, after st. Sound-alike: stare.

List 10: ar as in alarm 8

  • alarm A and r together say ar, between l and m.
  • apart A and r together say ar, between p and t.
  • garlic A and r together say ar, between g and lic.
  • guitar A and r together say ar, at the end, after t.
  • pardon A and r together say ar, between p and don.
  • postcard A and r together say ar, between stc and d.
  • sparkle A and r together say ar, between sp and kle.
  • starfish A and r together say ar, between st and f.

List 11: er as in sister 8

  • letter E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after tt.
  • never E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after v.
  • number E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after mb.
  • river E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after v.
  • sister E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after st.
  • tiger E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after g.
  • under E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after nd.
  • winter E and r spell the er sound, at the end, after nt.

List 12: ur as in purple 8

  • burst U and r spell the er sound, between b and st.
  • church U and r spell the er sound, between ch and ch.
  • curly U and r spell the er sound, between c and ly.
  • curtain U and r spell the er sound, between c and t.
  • purple U and r spell the er sound, between p and ple.
  • turkey U and r spell the er sound, between t and key.
  • turnip U and r spell the er sound, between t and nip.
  • turtle U and r spell the er sound, between t and tle.

List 13: ir as in bird 8

  • bird I and r spell the er sound, between b and d.
  • dirt I and r spell the er sound, between d and t.
  • firm I and r spell the er sound, between f and m.
  • first I and r spell the er sound, between f and st.
  • girl I and r spell the er sound, between g and l.
  • skirt I and r spell the er sound, between sk and t.
  • stir I and r spell the er sound, at the end, after st.
  • third I and r spell the er sound, between th and d.

List 14: ear as in hear 8

  • appear Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, at the end, after pp.
  • beard Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, between b and d.
  • clear Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, at the end, after cl.
  • dear Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, at the end, after d. Sound-alike: deer.
  • hear Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, at the end, after h. Sound-alike: here.
  • near Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, at the end, after n.
  • spear Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, at the end, after sp.
  • year Three letters, ear, say the ear of hear, at the end, after y.

List 15: ear as in earth 8

  • earnest Here ear says er, as in earth, at the start, before n.
  • earth Here ear says er, as in earth, at the start, before th.
  • earthly Here ear says er, as in earth, at the start, before t.
  • learn Here ear says er, as in earth, between l and n.
  • pearl Here ear says er, as in earth, between p and l.
  • search Here ear says er, as in earth, between s and ch.
  • unheard Here ear says er, as in earth, between nh and d.
  • yearn Here ear says er, as in earth, between y and n.

List 16: are as in share 8

  • care Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after c.
  • dare Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after d.
  • rare Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after r.
  • scare Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after sc.
  • share Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after sh.
  • spare Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after sp.
  • square Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after u.
  • stare Three letters, are, say air, as in share, at the end, after st. Sound-alike: stair.

List 17: ir as in circle 8

  • birthday I and r spell the er sound, between b and t.
  • circle I and r spell the er sound, between c and cle.
  • circus I and r spell the er sound, between c and cus.
  • dirty I and r spell the er sound, between d and ty.
  • squirrel I and r spell the er sound, between u and rel.
  • thirsty I and r spell the er sound, between th and sty.
  • thirteen I and r spell the er sound, between th and t.
  • thirty I and r spell the er sound, between th and ty.

List 18: er as in person 8

  • alert E and r spell the er sound, between l and t.
  • concert E and r spell the er sound, between nc and t.
  • expert E and r spell the er sound, between xp and t.
  • hermit E and r spell the er sound, between h and mit.
  • lantern E and r spell the er sound, between nt and n.
  • perfect E and r spell the er sound, between p and f.
  • permit E and r spell the er sound, between p and mit.
  • person E and r spell the er sound, between p and son.

List 19: ur as in return 8

  • burden U and r spell the er sound, between b and den.
  • disturb U and r spell the er sound, between st and b.
  • murmur U and r spell the er sound, at the end, after rm.
  • purpose U and r spell the er sound, between p and p.
  • return U and r spell the er sound, between t and n.
  • suburb U and r spell the er sound, between b and b.
  • surface U and r spell the er sound, between s and f.
  • urgent U and r spell the er sound, at the start, before g.

List 20: ir as in swirl 8

  • birth I and r spell the er sound, between b and th.
  • chirp I and r spell the er sound, between ch and p.
  • squirm I and r spell the er sound, between u and m.
  • squirt I and r spell the er sound, between u and t.
  • swirl I and r spell the er sound, between sw and l.
  • thirst I and r spell the er sound, between th and st.
  • twirl I and r spell the er sound, between tw and l.
  • whirl I and r spell the er sound, between wh and l.

How this list was compiled: Our own selection and grouping of 160 English words with a vowel followed by r, twenty lists of eight, one spelling to a list (ar, or, er, ir, ur, air, are, and ear with two of its sounds), with our own hints. The letters left out of every word are the vowel letters and the r. Every word has an English entry at https://en.wiktionary.org/ (license CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-10-03, and was checked the same day in the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary, a record of General American pronunciation (https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict), where every listed pronunciation must have the sound its list names: the ar of star, the or of corn, the er of her (for er, ir, ur and the ear of earth), the air of chair (for air and are) or the ear of hear. Every Wiktionary entry prints a pronunciation with the same sound; for earthly only a British one. Target was left out for a second listed pronunciation. Each hint that names a sound-alike names a word with the same pronunciation in the pronouncing dictionary. That an r changes the sound of the vowel before it, as in car, park, horn, her, bird and burn, was read on 2026-10-03 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonics; the spellings of the three sounds are in the table at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_orthography, read the same day. Spellings are American. No published word list or reading program was copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This r controlled vowels page opens on a sort: fifteen words to write under ar, or and er. Twenty lists of eight also cover ir, ur, air, are, and ear with two of its sounds, hear and earth.

Read the full guide

Free phonics worksheets: er, ir, ur

Er, ir and ur spell one sound, so they are sorted by spelling. Open More options, Word list, and pick List 11 (sister, purple, bird) or List 17 (circle, person, return). A sort takes five words from that list and five from each of the next two.

Ar phonics worksheets, one spelling at a time

Lists 1, 4, 7 and 10 hold only ar words, from star to starfish. Choose one, then Missing letters under What goes on the sheet: each word prints with its vowel and r left out, st__ for star.

  • A sort from List 14 sets two sounds of ear side by side: hear and near against earth and learn.
  • Under the tool every word has a hint, and sound-alikes are named: hear and here, pair and pear.

Questions and answers

What is an r-controlled vowel?

A vowel followed by r that loses its usual short sound: the r changes it. Car, park, horn, her, bird and burn are examples. These lists group such words by spelling: ar, or, er, ir and ur.

Can I use these as r controlled vowels worksheets, 3rd grade or 5th?

The grade is our suggestion, not a school's list. The first four lists hold one-syllable words such as star, corn, fern and shark; garden, uniform and thirteen come later, and return and disturb are in List 19.

Is ear always said the same way?

No. In hear, near and clear it has the sound of the word ear; in earth, learn and pearl it says er. Lists 14 and 15 keep to one sound each.

Which sheets have an answer key?

Sort by list, Missing letters, Word shapes, Unscramble and ABC order: the key prints as the last page. To leave it off, uncheck Add an answer key as the last page under More options.

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