• 210 words

Vowel Team Word List by Team, to Print or Test

Pick a vowel team, then print its list or hear it read aloud as a test.

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List 1: ai (train)

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

  1. 1.trainThe train stops at every station.
  2. 2.paintPaint dries faster on a warm day.
  3. 3.chainMy bike chain came off.
  4. 4.snailA snail carries its shell.
  5. 5.nailHammer the nail into the board.
  6. 6.brainYour brain sits inside your skull.
  7. 7.drainThe water went down the drain.
  8. 8.grainRice is a grain.
  9. 9.stainJuice left a stain on my shirt.
  10. 10.trailWe hiked the trail to the lake.
  11. 11.paidDad paid for the tickets.
  12. 12.aimAim the ball at the hoop.
  13. 13.containThese boxes contain old books.
  14. 14.explainCan you explain your answer?
  15. 15.afraidMy little sister is afraid of storms.

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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.

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 Compare long a with silent e: cake, snakePractice these words on a handwriting sheet

All 210 words

List 1: ai (train) 15

  • afraid My little sister is afraid of storms.
  • aim Aim the ball at the hoop.
  • brain Your brain sits inside your skull.
  • chain My bike chain came off.
  • contain These boxes contain old books.
  • drain The water went down the drain.
  • explain Can you explain your answer?
  • grain Rice is a grain.
  • nail Hammer the nail into the board.
  • paid Dad paid for the tickets.
  • paint Paint dries faster on a warm day.
  • snail A snail carries its shell.
  • stain Juice left a stain on my shirt.
  • trail We hiked the trail to the lake.
  • train The train stops at every station.

List 2: ay (play) 15

  • away Put the paints away after art.
  • birthday My birthday is next week.
  • clay We made bowls out of clay.
  • crayon Color the sun with a yellow crayon.
  • day Today is a sunny day.
  • delay Snow caused a delay at the airport.
  • pay How much did you pay for it?
  • play Can you come out to play?
  • say What did the teacher say?
  • spray The waves spray us with water.
  • stay Stay close to the group.
  • stray A stray cat sat by our door.
  • subway We rode the subway downtown.
  • today We have art class today.
  • tray The ice cube tray is empty.

List 3: ee (tree) 15

  • between The ball rolled between the chairs.
  • cheese I like cheese on my sandwich.
  • free The museum is free on Sundays.
  • geese The geese flew south for winter.
  • green Grass is green in spring.
  • keep You can keep this pencil.
  • knee I scraped my knee on the sidewalk.
  • queen The queen wore a crown.
  • sheep Wool comes from sheep.
  • sleep Babies sleep a lot.
  • sneeze Cover your mouth when you sneeze.
  • street Look both ways before crossing the street.
  • teeth A shark has rows of sharp teeth.
  • three Count to three, then jump.
  • tree A squirrel ran up the tree.

List 4: ea (eat) 15

  • bean Plant one bean in each cup.
  • clean Please clean up your desk.
  • cream Butter is made from cream.
  • dream I had a funny dream last night.
  • east The sun rises in the east.
  • easy This puzzle is easy.
  • eat Rabbits eat carrots and clover.
  • heat The sun gives us heat and light.
  • peach A peach has fuzzy skin.
  • seat Please take a seat.
  • speak Speak up so we can hear you.
  • squeak The door hinge began to squeak.
  • teach Can you teach me that song?
  • treat We had ice cream as a treat.
  • wheat Flour is often made from wheat.

List 5: oa (boat) 15

  • boat We rowed the boat across the pond.
  • coach Our coach blew the whistle.
  • coast We drove along the coast.
  • croak Frogs croak by the pond at night.
  • float A cork will float in water.
  • foam Bubble bath makes lots of foam.
  • goal My goal is to read ten books.
  • goat The goat ate the grass.
  • loaf Buy a loaf of bread.
  • oak An acorn grows into an oak.
  • oatmeal I eat oatmeal for breakfast.
  • soak Soak the beans in water overnight.
  • soap This bar of soap smells like lemons.
  • throat Hot tea helps my sore throat.
  • toast The toast popped up golden brown.

List 6: ow and oe (snow) 15

  • arrow Follow the arrow to the exit.
  • blow Blow out the candles.
  • elbow Your elbow bends your arm.
  • glow Fireflies glow in the dark.
  • goes This bus goes to the library.
  • grow Plants need water to grow.
  • oboe An oboe is a woodwind instrument.
  • own I have my own room.
  • pillow My pillow is soft.
  • shadow My shadow is long in the evening.
  • show Show me your drawing.
  • snow Snow fell all night long.
  • tiptoe We tiptoe past the sleeping baby.
  • window Open the window for fresh air.
  • yellow Mix blue and yellow to make green.

List 7: igh and ie (light) 15

  • bright The sun is very bright.
  • cried The baby cried for her bottle.
  • fight The puppies play fight in the grass.
  • flies A bat flies at night.
  • flight Our flight leaves at noon.
  • fried We had fried eggs.
  • fright The thunder gave our dog a fright.
  • highlight Highlight the main idea in yellow.
  • light Turn off the light, please.
  • lightning Lightning flashed across the sky.
  • midnight The clock struck midnight.
  • skies The skies cleared after the rain.
  • thigh Your thigh is the top of your leg.
  • tonight We will look at stars tonight.
  • tried I tried a new fruit today.

List 8: ue, ui and ew (glue) 15

  • argue Please do not argue about the game.
  • chew Chew your food slowly.
  • clue Find the next clue.
  • drew He drew a map of the playground.
  • few Only a few cookies are left.
  • fruit An apple is a fruit.
  • glue Glue the paper to the card.
  • grew The plant grew very tall.
  • jewel The ring has a red jewel.
  • juice I drink orange juice.
  • rescue The lifeguard swam out to rescue a swimmer.
  • statue A bird sat on the statue.
  • stew We had beef stew for dinner.
  • suitcase Pack your clothes in the suitcase.
  • true Mark each fact true or false.

List 9: oo as in moon 15

  • balloon The red balloon floated away.
  • boot My left boot has a hole.
  • cool The shade feels cool.
  • food Animals need food and water.
  • goose A goose honked at us.
  • igloo An igloo is built from snow.
  • kangaroo A kangaroo can hop far.
  • moon The moon lights up the night.
  • noon Lunch starts at noon.
  • pool We swam in the pool.
  • school We walk to school together.
  • scoop I want one scoop of ice cream.
  • spoon Eat your soup with a spoon.
  • tooth My front tooth is loose.
  • zoo We saw lions at the zoo.

List 10: oo as in book 15

  • book Read a book before bed.
  • cook Dad likes to cook pasta.
  • cookbook Find the recipe in the cookbook.
  • foot Hop on one foot.
  • football He threw the football.
  • good This soup smells good.
  • hood Pull up your hood in the rain.
  • hook Put a worm on the fishing hook.
  • look Look at the rainbow!
  • shook The dog shook water off its fur.
  • stood Everyone stood up to sing.
  • took I took the dog for a walk.
  • understood I understood the directions.
  • wooden Stir the batter with a wooden spoon.
  • wool This scarf is made of wool.

List 11: ou and ow (cow) 15

  • brown The bear has brown fur.
  • cloud That cloud looks like a rabbit.
  • clown The clown wore big shoes.
  • cow A cow gives us milk.
  • down Sit down on the carpet.
  • ground Leaves fell to the ground.
  • house Our house has a red door.
  • loud The music is too loud.
  • mouse A mouse ran across the floor.
  • mouth Open your mouth and say ah.
  • out Let the cat out.
  • owl An owl hoots at night.
  • round A ball is round.
  • shout Please do not shout indoors.
  • town The parade marched through town.

List 12: oi and oy (coin) 15

  • boil Boil water for the pasta.
  • boy The boy on the bench waved.
  • choice You have a choice of two books.
  • enjoy I enjoy reading comics.
  • join Come join our game.
  • joy The puppy brought us joy.
  • moist Keep the soil moist.
  • noise What is that noise?
  • oil Put oil in the pan.
  • oyster A pearl can grow inside an oyster.
  • point Point to the map.
  • royal The royal family lived in a palace.
  • soil Plant the seeds in soil.
  • toy Put each toy back on the shelf.
  • voice Use a quiet voice indoors.

List 13: au and aw (saw) 15

  • author An author writes stories.
  • autumn We rake maple leaves in autumn.
  • claw A crab has a sharp claw.
  • draw Draw a house with a chimney.
  • faucet Turn off the faucet.
  • fault It was nobody's fault.
  • hawk A hawk circled above the field.
  • launch Watch the rocket launch.
  • laundry Fold the clean laundry.
  • lawn We mowed the lawn.
  • paw The dog gave me its paw.
  • sauce Pour sauce on the noodles.
  • saw I saw a deer in the woods.
  • straw Drink your milk with a straw.
  • yawn A big yawn means I am sleepy.

List 14: teams with other sounds (head) 15

  • blood Your heart pumps blood.
  • breath Take a deep breath.
  • chief The fire chief visited our class.
  • country Canada is a large country.
  • feather A feather floated down.
  • field Cows grazed in the field.
  • group Work with your group.
  • head Put a hat on your head.
  • heavy This box is too heavy to lift.
  • ready Are you ready to go?
  • soup Warm soup is good on cold days.
  • sweater Wear a warm sweater today.
  • thief The thief took the jewels.
  • touch Do not touch the wet paint.
  • young The young puppy slept all day.

How it works

This vowel team word list holds 210 words in 14 lists, one team or pair to a list: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow, igh, oo, ou, oi, aw and more. Pick a list to print or test.

Read the full guide

How the 14 lists are sorted

Lists 1 to 7 make long vowels: ai and ay (train, play), ee and ea (tree, eat), oa, ow and oe (boat, snow, goes), then igh and ie (light, cried). Lists 8 to 13 are the variant vowel word list: ue, ui and ew, oo as in moon and as in book, ou and ow (cow), oi and oy, au and aw. List 14 holds teams that break the pattern.

Print a list or run the test

Choose Word list and press Print: 15 words and their sentences fit one page. Test sheet adds a last page for whoever reads the words out; ABC order and Missing letters are two more sheets. Start test reads the open list aloud, then marks it.

  • ow sits in two lists because it makes two sounds: snow in List 6, cow in List 11. Sort a mixed pile by sound first.

Questions and answers

Where is the list of vowel teams?

Each list's name is its team and a key word, so the menu reads as the list of vowel teams: ai (train), ay (play), ee (tree), ea (eat), oa (boat), ow (snow), igh (light), oo (moon), oo (book), ou (cow), oi (coin), aw (saw).

Is there an ee word list or an igh words list?

Yes: List 3 is the ee word list (tree, sheep, queen, between) and List 7 is the igh words list (light, thigh, midnight), with five ie words such as cried and skies.

What is on the unpredictable vowel teams word list?

List 14: ea that says short e (head, sweater), ie that says long e (chief, field), ou in soup and touch, and oo in blood. Each team here also makes the sound of its own list.

Can I get a vowel teams list PDF?

Press Print and choose Save as PDF in your browser's print window. The file holds the one list on screen, so save each team's list in turn.

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