• 84 words

Short O Words

Words with the vowel sound of hot, sorted by ending: -ot, -op, -og, -ock and more.

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The 12 words of this list. Add or change any. For your own list, press Clear first.

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List 1: -ot (hot)

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

  1. 1.hotHot cocoa steamed in the tin mug.
  2. 2.potBoil the pasta in a big pot.
  3. 3.dotConnect each dot to draw the star.
  4. 4.gotI got a new library card.
  5. 5.lotWe parked in the lot behind school.
  6. 6.notThis path is not on the map.
  7. 7.jotJot the date on your paper.
  8. 8.rotFruit left out too long will rot.
  9. 9.spotPick a shady spot for the blanket.
  10. 10.knotMy shoelace has a stubborn knot.
  11. 11.forgotThe actor forgot one line and smiled.
  12. 12.teapotSteam rose from the teapot.

Made at homeroomtools.com

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Each word is read aloud, then used in a sentence. Type what you hear. The marks come at the end.

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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.

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

Next step Now the long o words: tone, groveBack to short a: cat, map, plant

All 84 words

List 1: -ot (hot) 12

  • dot Connect each dot to draw the star.
  • forgot The actor forgot one line and smiled.
  • got I got a new library card.
  • hot Hot cocoa steamed in the tin mug.
  • jot Jot the date on your paper.
  • knot My shoelace has a stubborn knot.
  • lot We parked in the lot behind school.
  • not This path is not on the map.
  • pot Boil the pasta in a big pot.
  • rot Fruit left out too long will rot.
  • spot Pick a shady spot for the blanket.
  • teapot Steam rose from the teapot.

List 2: -op (mop) 12

  • chop Chop the carrots into small pieces.
  • drop A drop of rain hit my nose.
  • hilltop A lone pine stands on the hilltop.
  • hop Crickets hop out of the tall weeds.
  • laptop Close the laptop when you finish.
  • mop Mop the floor after the spill.
  • pop Bubbles pop when they touch the grass.
  • raindrop A raindrop clung to the spider web.
  • shop We shop for fruit on Saturday.
  • stop The trolley will stop near the museum.
  • top Snow dusted the top of the mailbox.
  • treetop An owl sat in the treetop.

List 3: -og (frog) 12

  • bog Boards made a path across the bog.
  • bulldog A bulldog waddled past the bakery.
  • clog Wet leaves clog the gutter.
  • cog Each cog turns the one beside it.
  • dog A sheep dog rounded up the lambs.
  • fog Morning fog rolled in from the bay.
  • frog A tiny frog clung to the reed.
  • hedgehog The hedgehog sniffed under the leaves.
  • hog The hog ate from the trough.
  • jog We jog around the track each morning.
  • log We sat on a log by the fire.
  • smog Smog hung over the busy city.

List 4: -ock (rock) 12

  • block Stack one more block on the tower.
  • clock The station clock is two minutes slow.
  • dock We tied the boat to the dock.
  • flock A flock of sparrows landed on the wire.
  • knock Three taps and one knock is our signal.
  • lock Lock the gate when you leave.
  • padlock A padlock keeps the bike safe.
  • peacock A peacock strutted across the farmyard.
  • rock She skipped a flat rock across the pond.
  • shamrock She drew a green shamrock on the card.
  • sock I found my missing sock in the dryer.
  • unlock Type the code to unlock the gate.

List 5: -ob, -od and -ox (job, nod, box) 12

  • blob A blob of glue dried on the desk.
  • box A shoe box makes a fine diorama.
  • cob Butter melted over the hot cob of corn.
  • fox A red fox crossed the snowy field.
  • job Watering the ferns is a morning job.
  • knob The drawer knob came off in my hand.
  • nod Give a nod when the music should start.
  • plod Tired hikers plod up the trail.
  • pod Split the pod and count the peas.
  • rob Raccoons rob our trash can at night.
  • rod Hang the curtain on the rod.
  • sob The sad story made him sob.

List 6: short o at the start (otter) 12

  • obstacle We ran an obstacle course at camp.
  • obvious Muddy paw prints made the culprit obvious.
  • occupy Two classes occupy the upstairs rooms.
  • octopus We watched an octopus at the aquarium.
  • odd Seven is an odd number.
  • olive He put one olive on his plate.
  • operate A crane is hard to operate.
  • opposite We sat on opposite sides of the canoe.
  • option Walking is the best option today.
  • otter The otter cracked a clam on a stone.
  • ox The ox pulled a wooden cart.
  • oxen Two oxen pulled the heavy plow.

List 7: two syllables (bot-tle) 12

  • bottle A message floated inside the glass bottle.
  • bottom Mud settled at the bottom of the jar.
  • comet We saw a comet through the telescope.
  • cotton Cotton candy melted on my tongue.
  • doctor The doctor listened to my heart.
  • dollar A crumpled dollar fell out of the book.
  • hobby Birdwatching became our weekend hobby.
  • monster My monster drawing has six purple eyes.
  • popcorn Popcorn rattled inside the hot kettle.
  • problem A flat tire was the only problem.
  • robin Blue eggs filled the nest of the robin.
  • soccer Our soccer team practices after school.

How it works

These short o words fill 7 lists of twelve, 84 words in all, from hot, mop and frog to otter and popcorn. Every word comes with a sentence, to print with it or to hear in a test.

Read the full guide

A short o words list for each ending

List 1 is -ot (hot, spot, forgot), List 2 -op (mop, chop, raindrop) and List 3 -og (frog, smog, hedgehog). List 4 is -ock, where ck spells the last sound (rock, clock, padlock). List 5 groups three short endings, -ob, -od and -ox (job, nod, box).

Short o vowel words past three letters

In List 6 the short o comes first: ox, odd, otter, olive, octopus, obstacle. List 7 has two syllables with short o in the first: bottle, cotton, doctor, robin, popcorn. Lists 1 to 4 end with longer words such as teapot, hilltop, bulldog and padlock, each built on a word from higher up.

  • Not and knot sound the same. The sentence read with each one tells the child which to write.

Questions and answers

Which short o spelling words suit a first test?

Our suggestion is List 1 or List 2. Each starts with three-letter words (hot, pot, dot, hop, mop, top) and only then reaches spot, knot, stop and shop.

Is dog a short o word?

The American Heritage Dictionary gives dog two pronunciations, one with the vowel of paw and one with short o. The same holds for log, fog, hog, bog, frog and clog. Jog is given with short o only.

Is the short o sound always spelled with o?

No. After w the letter a can spell it: swan, wand, swap, watch and wallet all have the sound in the dictionary. These lists keep to words spelled with o.

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