List of Short Vowel Words
The English language alone can provide a list of short vowel words that could seem to be never ending. A short vowel word is any word that does not allow the vowel within it to generate that vowel’s long vowel sound. For instance, the word bug is a short vowel word, because there is no long U sound. A word doesn’t necessarily have to have three letters to be a short vowel word, but it makes for the easiest example, and three-lettered words make up the bulk of any list of words with short vowels a person may comprise.
List of Short Vowel Words
Words with only three letters are the easiest to make the short vowel sound out of, due to the fact that only having three letters typically doesn’t allow for a second vowel to force the long vowel sound. An obvious example of the exception would be words like bee or tea. These words use a second vowel to force the long vowel sound from the first one, while other words like ant or mat use the placement of consonants to force a short vowel sound. Some other three-lettered words that are considered short vowel words are:
Short “a” Words
act, apt, ask, bat, bad, bag, cat, cap, cab, dad, dab, Dan, fan, fat, fad, gap, gab, gal, gas, ham, has, had, hat, jab, jam, lab, lad, lag, lap, man, mad, mat, map, nap, pan, Pam, pad, pal, ran, ram, rag, rat, Sam, sad, sag, sat, sap, tab, tan, tad, tag, tap, van, vat, yam, zap
Short “e” Words
Ben, bed, beg, bet, den, fed, gem, get, gel, hen, hem, jet, Ken, keg, led, leg, let, men, met, net, pen, peg, pet, red, set, ten, Ted, vet, yet, wed, wet
Short “ i” Words
bin, bid, big, bit, dim, did, dig, dip, fin, fig, fit, gin, gig, him, his, hid, hit, hip, jib, Jim, jig, jip, kin, Kim, kid, kit, lid, lit, lip, nip, pin, pig, pit, rim, rid, rig, rip, sin, sit, sip, tin, tip, win, wit, zip, zit
Short “o” Words
bop, con, cod, cog, cot, cop, Don, dog, dot, fog, God, got, hog, hot, jog, jot, lob, log, lot, lop, mob, mom, mop, nod, not, pod, pot, rod, rot, son, sod, ton, Tom, tot, top, won
Short “u” Words
bun, bum, bus, bud, bug, but, cud, cut, cup, dug, fun, gun, gum, Gus, gut, hum, hug, hut, jug, jut, lug, mug, nun, nut, pun, pug, pup, rub, run, rum, rug, rut, sub, sun, sum, tug
Using Short Vowel Sounds
Though the above list of words with short vowels is incomplete, you can use it to understand the basic usage for the short vowel sound. These short vowel sounds are often used in larger words as well, including words that also contain long vowel sounds, or even in two-lettered words, like in, it, and at.
Longer words, such as magistrate or fascinate, use both the short vowel sound and the long vowel sound.
To Read ¹ read (past tense):
Some words can use the short vowel sound and the long vowel sound depending on the tense of the word being used. Words like read, for example, are pronounced as the long vowel sound when the tense is present, as in “we are reading this list of short vowel words.” However, when the tense is changed from present to past-tense, the long vowel sound is taken away and the short vowel sound is introduced in the same word. For instance, we go from “reading” the list to “I have read the list of short vowel words, and understand much better now."
Long vowel sounds:
Word Lists: Long Vowel Final e Rule
Word families (using rimes) that include c, g, y, and w, digraphs, diphthongs, etc., are included in this list.
-age -ale -ane
cage bale cane gage dale Jane page gale lane
-ace rage hale mane face sage male pane lace wage pale sane mace stage sale crane pace tale plane race
-ake scale
brace bake stale
-ape grace cake whale cape place fake gape space Jake
-ame tape trace lake came drape
make dame grape
-ade rake fame scrape
fade take game shape jade wake lame made brake name
-ate wade flake same date blade shake tame fate glade snake blame gate grade stake flame hate
rate crate grate plate skate state
-ibe jibe bribe scribe
-ave wave crave shave slave
cave tribe Dave gave pave rave
-ice dice lice mice nice brave rice vice grave price slice splice
twice
-ide
bide hide ride
A Final e Rule
I Final e Rule
E Final e Rule
shade spade trade
Word Lists: Long Vowel Final e Rule
frame Kate shame late
mate None! side Page 1 of 3tide file shrine sprite wide mile spine bride Nile swine
-ive chide pile whine dive glide tile
-ipe five pride vile pipe hive slide smile ripe jive snide while wipe live stride gripe drive
-ime snipe strive
-ife dime stripe thrive
-ole dope dole hope hole lope mole mope pole nope role pope stole rope whole grope -ome scope dome slope home -ore Rome bore gnome core chrome fore
fife lime swipe knife mime tripe life time rife chime -ire gore
O Final e Rule
wife crime fire strife grime hire -obe
prime tire lobe -ike slime wire robe
-one more bone pore cone sore hone tore lone wore tone chore zone score clone shore phone snore prone store shone swore
bike spire globe dike
-ine probe hike dine
-ite like fine bite
-ode Mike line kite code pike mine mite lode spike nine quite mode strike pine rite node stone vine site rode
-ose hose cope nose pose
-ile wine white strode bile shine write
-ope
U Final e Rule
-uke rose duke nuke close puke those fluke
-ote note vote rote quote
-ule mule* rule yule
wrote -ume fume*
flume plume hose
-une June cube* tune
-ube ube prune tube
-use
fuse* -ude muse
dude ruse nude rude crude
prude
-ute
cute* flute lute mute* brute chute
* Words with an asterisk pronounce with a long u sound. Most other u-consonant-e words pronounce with the /oo/ sound.
Word Lists: Long Vowel Final e Rule
Page 3 of 3
Exercise #1
Circle the words with long vowel sounds, then, underline those with short vowel sounds
by Corigan Malloy
Today, my friend Tracy is going on an airplane to fly to Spain. There, she will meet her friends at the lake. At the lake, she will also see a baby duck, and maybe even an alligator. She hopes that it will not rain. Later, she will go to a restaurant and use a tray to get her food. She will go home on a plane, but not the same plane. My friend may even bring me a gift. I can’t wait until my friend Tracy comes back this way!
Mick and Mike will fight at five. Mike is not big, so Mike’s pal wantsMike to quit. It is not quite five, and Mike’s pal runs to Mike.
“Quick, Mike! Go hide! You do not want to fight!
You might get hit and cry!”
“You are right,” said Mike. “I don’t want to fight.
Mick wants to fight. He is a vile tike.”
Mike and his pal will hide at the side of the dike.
They will run a mile and go back and play. Mick might not fight at five.
“Mike, did you lie?” asked his pal.
“No, I did not lie,” said Mike. “I did not want to fight. I want to play!
Jim likes to ride his bike and hide by the lake.
Today, he rides his bike five miles and stops to rest. He eats beef by a tree.
“This is not beef,” says Jim. “This is veal! That’s okay. I like veal.”
Jim sees a hive in the tree. Bees like to go in the hive.
Jim wants to see a bee, so he hits the hive five times.
Six bees fly and see Jim.
“Oh, no!” says Jim.
He runs to his bike, but he can not quite get away.
The bees are quite mad. Jim yells and cries and hides.
Jim will not hit the hive five times next time. He will just ride his bike
and go away.