• 210 words

Irregular Spelling Words, Plus Digraph and Long Vowel Lists

Irregular spelling words, digraphs and long vowels in 21 lists: pick one, press Start test and type what you hear.

Edit this list or use your own words

The 10 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.

Sheet to show and print

List 1: irregular everyday words

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

  1. 1.saidShe said the soup was too hot.
  2. 2.wasThe floor was wet after the rain.
  3. 3.doesWhat does this button do?
  4. 4.ofI drank a glass of milk.
  5. 5.oneThere is only one moon in our sky.
  6. 6.youDid you pack your lunch today?
  7. 7.theyThe ducks quack when they are hungry.
  8. 8.areMy shoes are under the bed.
  9. 9.wereThe lights were off when we arrived.
  10. 10.therePut the box over there by the door.

Made at homeroomtools.com

Make a word search

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

More options
Reading speed

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 Drill said, was and does as flash cardsPrint the sh, ch, th and wh sound cards

All 210 words

List 1: irregular everyday words 10

  • are My shoes are under the bed.
  • does What does this button do?
  • of I drank a glass of milk.
  • one There is only one moon in our sky.
  • said She said the soup was too hot.
  • there Put the box over there by the door.
  • they The ducks quack when they are hungry.
  • was The floor was wet after the rain.
  • were The lights were off when we arrived.
  • you Did you pack your lunch today?

List 2: irregular, o that says u 10

  • come Please come to the front of the room.
  • done Tell me when you are done.
  • dozen A dozen eggs is twelve eggs.
  • glove I lost one glove in the snow.
  • honey Bees make honey from nectar.
  • none None of the eggs were broken.
  • some I would like some more rice, please.
  • son The man walked to school with his son.
  • won Our team won the game by two points.
  • wonder I wonder what is inside the box.

List 3: irregular, o that says oo 10

  • canoe We paddled the canoe across the lake.
  • do What should we do after lunch?
  • lose Hold the ticket so you do not lose it.
  • move Please move your chair closer to mine.
  • prove Can you prove that the answer is right?
  • shoe My left shoe has a hole in it.
  • to Give the book to your partner.
  • two Two plus two equals four.
  • who Do you know who left this coat?
  • whose Whose backpack is on the floor?

List 4: irregular, a after w and qu 10

  • squad Our squad won the relay race.
  • squash We grew squash in the school garden.
  • swan A white swan floated on the pond.
  • swap We can swap seats after lunch.
  • waffle I poured syrup on my waffle.
  • wallet Dad keeps his cards in a wallet.
  • wand The magician waved a wand over the hat.
  • want I want to read that book next.
  • wasp A wasp built a nest under the roof.
  • what Tell me what you saw at the zoo.

List 5: irregular, vowels that fool you 10

  • any Do you have any paper left?
  • been I have been to the library twice.
  • build We will build a tower from blocks.
  • busy The bees are busy around the hive.
  • buy I will buy a stamp for my letter.
  • eye Close one eye and look through the lens.
  • friend My friend sits next to me in class.
  • give Please give the ball back to her.
  • have I have a library book due today.
  • says The sign says the pool is closed.

List 6: irregular ea, oo and ou 10

  • blood A small cut let out a drop of blood.
  • break An egg will break if you drop it.
  • cousin My cousin is coming to visit this summer.
  • door Please close the door behind you.
  • flood The heavy rain caused a flood in town.
  • great We had a great time at the park.
  • heart I could feel my heart beating fast.
  • steak Dad cooked a steak on the grill.
  • touch Do not touch the hot stove.
  • young A young cat is called a kitten.

List 7: irregular, silent letters 10

  • answer Check your answer before you hand it in.
  • debt She paid back the debt in full.
  • doubt I doubt we can finish before the bell.
  • half Cut the apple in half to share it.
  • honest Be honest and tell what happened.
  • hour There are sixty minutes in an hour.
  • island An island has water on every side.
  • sword The knight carried a sword and a shield.
  • talk We can talk about the story after lunch.
  • yolk A fried egg has a yellow yolk.

List 8: irregular, six sounds of ough 10

  • bough A robin sat on the bough of an oak.
  • bought I bought a notebook at the store.
  • cough A bad cough kept me up all night.
  • dough Roll the dough flat to make a pizza.
  • enough We have enough chairs for everyone.
  • rough Sandpaper feels rough on your fingers.
  • though I went outside even though it was cold.
  • thought I thought the library closed at noon.
  • through The train went through a long tunnel.
  • tough The old boots were made of tough leather.

List 9: irregular, harder words 10

  • beautiful The sunset was beautiful last night.
  • because We stayed inside because of the storm.
  • business My aunt runs a small business in town.
  • colonel The colonel gave an order to the soldiers.
  • ocean The Pacific is the largest ocean on Earth.
  • pretty The garden looks pretty in the spring.
  • sugar I put one spoon of sugar in the tea.
  • tongue I burned my tongue on the hot soup.
  • women Two women were jogging in the park.
  • yacht A white yacht sailed into the harbor.

List 10: digraphs sh, ch, th and wh at the start 10

  • chat We had a quick chat before class.
  • chunk I tore off a chunk of bread.
  • shelf The top shelf is too high to reach.
  • ship The ship sailed out to sea at dawn.
  • shrimp We had shrimp and rice for dinner.
  • thin The ice is too thin to walk on.
  • thump The book fell with a loud thump.
  • whale A blue whale is bigger than a bus.
  • when Tell me when the timer rings.
  • whisper Please whisper near the sleeping baby.

List 11: digraphs sh, ch, th, ck and ng at the end 10

  • belong These crayons belong in the blue bin.
  • bench We sat on a bench in the park.
  • clock The clock on the wall says noon.
  • cloth Wipe the table with a damp cloth.
  • crash The tower of blocks fell with a crash.
  • fresh The bread is still warm and fresh.
  • sandwich I ate a cheese sandwich for lunch.
  • stuck My boot got stuck in the mud.
  • swung The monkey swung from branch to branch.
  • tenth October is the tenth month of the year.

List 12: the digraph ph 10

  • alphabet The English alphabet has twenty-six letters.
  • dolphin A dolphin is a mammal, not a fish.
  • elephant An elephant picks up food with its trunk.
  • graph Draw a bar graph of the results.
  • nephew My brother's son is my nephew.
  • orphan The orphan kitten needed a new family.
  • phone My phone rang during dinner.
  • photo We took a class photo on the steps.
  • sphere A ball is shaped like a sphere.
  • trophy The winning team held up the trophy.

List 13: silent e pairs, hop to hope 10

  • cub The bear cub followed its mother.
  • cube An ice cube melted in my glass.
  • hop A rabbit can hop over the log.
  • hope I hope it does not rain today.
  • pin Use a pin to hold the note up.
  • pine A pine tree stays green all winter.
  • slid The sled slid down the icy hill.
  • slide We took turns on the slide at recess.
  • tap Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth.
  • tape Use tape to fix the torn page.

List 14: long a with silent e, ai and ay 10

  • brave The brave firefighter climbed the ladder.
  • cake We baked a cake for the party.
  • clay I made a small pot out of clay.
  • grape A grape grows on a vine.
  • holiday The bank is closed for the holiday.
  • plate Rinse your plate after you eat.
  • play We play outside when the sun is out.
  • rain The rain fell all night long.
  • snail A snail carries its shell on its back.
  • trail We followed the trail into the woods.

List 15: long e with ee and ea 10

  • agree We all agree on the rules of the game.
  • beach We found shells on the beach.
  • cheese Cheese is made from milk.
  • dream I had a strange dream last night.
  • green Mix blue and yellow paint to make green.
  • please Please pass the salt.
  • reason Give one reason for your choice.
  • sneeze Dust in the air made me sneeze.
  • steam Steam rose from the hot soup.
  • street Our school is on a quiet street.

List 16: long e with silent e, y, ey and ie 10

  • chief The fire chief spoke to our class.
  • complete Please complete the last page tonight.
  • empty The box was empty when I opened it.
  • field The cows are out in the field.
  • key I cannot find the key to the front door.
  • niece My sister's daughter is my niece.
  • penny A penny is worth one cent.
  • theme The theme of the party was outer space.
  • thief The thief ran off with the bag.
  • valley A river runs along the valley floor.

List 17: long i with silent e, igh and y 10

  • drive We drive to the lake every summer.
  • flight Our flight lands at noon.
  • prize First prize was a blue ribbon.
  • reply Please reply to the letter this week.
  • shine The stars shine on a clear night.
  • shy The shy kitten hid under the bed.
  • sight The eagle has very sharp sight.
  • tight These shoes feel too tight on my feet.
  • type I can type my name without looking.
  • while Read a book while you wait.

List 18: long i with ie, ind and ild, plus climb and height 10

  • behind The cat hid behind the couch.
  • child Every child in the class got a turn.
  • climb Goats can climb steep rocks.
  • find I cannot find my other sock.
  • height The nurse measured my height and weight.
  • kind It was kind of you to share.
  • lie It is wrong to tell a lie.
  • pie We ate apple pie after dinner.
  • tie Tie your laces in a double knot.
  • wild Wild horses live on the open plain.

List 19: long o with silent e, oa and ow 10

  • below The temperature dropped below freezing last night.
  • boat The boat rocked gently on the waves.
  • bowl Pour the cereal into a bowl.
  • drove We drove two hours to the lake.
  • froze The pond froze during the cold night.
  • globe Find Africa on the classroom globe.
  • pillow I sleep with a soft pillow.
  • smoke Gray smoke rose from the campfire.
  • throat A sore throat makes it hard to swallow.
  • toast I like butter and jam on my toast.

List 20: long o with o alone, oe, old and ost, plus sew 10

  • both Hold the cup with both hands.
  • goes The bus goes past the library.
  • gold The winner gets a gold medal.
  • hello Say hello to the new student.
  • most I finished most of my homework.
  • potato A potato grows under the ground.
  • sew I can sew a button onto my shirt.
  • toe I stubbed my toe on the step.
  • told The teacher told us to line up.
  • zero Ten minus ten equals zero.

List 21: long u with silent e, ue, ew and ui 10

  • argue Please do not argue over the last seat.
  • chew Chew your food before you swallow.
  • clue The muddy footprint was our first clue.
  • excuse Please excuse me for being late.
  • few Only a few leaves are left on the tree.
  • fruit An apple is a fruit that grows on trees.
  • include Please include your name on the page.
  • mute Press mute to turn off the sound.
  • rescue A boat came to rescue the sailors.
  • rude It is rude to push in line.

How it works

These irregular spelling words are sorted by what breaks the rule: o that says u in come, six sounds of ough. Lists 10 to 12 are digraphs and Lists 14 to 21 long vowels: long o is 19 and 20.

Read the full guide

How the 21 lists are sorted

Lists 1 to 9 hold 90 words that break the rules, grouped by the reason. List 1 has the everyday ones, Lists 2 to 4 each follow one odd vowel, and Lists 5 to 9 run through silent letters and ough. Lists 10 to 12 are digraph spelling words, List 13 pairs hop with hope, and Lists 14 to 21 cover the long vowels.

Why a sentence follows each word

Of the 210 words, 47 have a sound-alike: son and sun, break and brake. A voice cannot show which one it means, so a sentence follows, such as Two plus two equals four. Type each word and press Enter, or tap Next word. Type the sound-alike and the results name the mix-up.

  • Before m, n or v a handwritten u was hard to read, so medieval scribes wrote o: come and honey.
  • Island got its s in the 16th century from isle, an unrelated word. Debt and doubt got b from Latin.
  • Long e spelling words fill two lists. In List 16, field, niece, chief and thief all put i before e.

Questions and answers

What are some examples of irregular spelling words?

Said, was, does and of are the everyday ones, on List 1. Island, answer and debt have a silent letter, though and cough share ough with different sounds, and colonel and yacht close List 9. All 90 are listed below.

Which list should we start with?

Start where the mistakes are. A student who misses said and was needs List 1. For long o spelling words, take List 19 first: it has the common spellings, and List 20 the rarer ones such as toe and sew.

Is there a long i word list or a long e words list?

Two of each. Long i spelling words fill List 17 (silent e, igh and y) and List 18 (ie, ind and ild, plus climb and height). Long e has List 15 (ee and ea) and List 16 (silent e, y, ey and ie).

Which digraphs do Lists 10 to 12 cover?

List 10 puts sh, ch, th and wh at the start: ship, chunk, thump, whale. List 11 moves them to the end and adds ck and ng: fresh, bench, clock, swung. List 12 is ph alone, from phone and dolphin to nephew and sphere.

More tools

Show 8 more

Browse Flashcards