Phonics word list

SL blend words

In short

Sl is a blend of s and l at the start of a word, both heard, as in slip, sled and sleep. It counts as both an s blend and an l blend. Our checked list has 147 words that start with the sl blend.

At a glance

Words in our list: 147
By syllables: one syllable: 83 · two syllables: 63 · three or more syllables: 1
Taught in: Lesson 35c in the sequence

Sl words, most common first

Spelling units show how each word breaks into the letters that spell one sound; a_e is a vowel and silent e working together. Readable after is the first lesson where a student can sound out the whole word.

One syllable

The 60 most common of 83 words. 23 more are in our list.

One syllable
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
slip	s·l·i·p	1	Lesson 26
slow	s·l·ow	1	Lesson 86
sleep	s·l·ee·p	1	Lesson 85
slight	s·l·igh·t	1	Lesson 87
slag	s·l·a·g	1	Lesson 26
slid	s·l·i·d	1	Lesson 26
slim	s·l·i·m	1	Lesson 26
slot	s·l·o·t	1	Lesson 26
slang	s·l·a·ng	1	Lesson 51
slash	s·l·a·sh	1	Lesson 45
slave	s·l·a_e·v	1	Lesson 54
slept	s·l·e·p·t	1	Lesson 26
slice	s·l·i_e·c	1	Lesson 60
slide	s·l·i_e·d	1	Lesson 55
slips	s·l·i·p·s	1	Lesson 26
slope	s·l·o_e·p	1	Lesson 56
slots	s·l·o·t·s	1	Lesson 26
slows	s·l·ow·s	1	Lesson 86
slaves	s·l·a_e·v·s	1	Lesson 54
sleeps	s·l·ee·p·s	1	Lesson 85
sliced	s·l·i·c·ed	1	Lesson 64
slides	s·l·i_e·d·s	1	Lesson 55
slowed	s·l·ow·ed	1	Lesson 86
slipped	s·l·i·pp·ed	1	Lesson 107
sly	s·l·y	1	Lesson 73
slab	s·l·a·b	1	Lesson 26
slam	s·l·a·m	1	Lesson 26
slap	s·l·a·p	1	Lesson 26
slat	s·l·a·t	1	Lesson 26
sled	s·l·e·d	1	Lesson 26
slew	s·l·ew	1	Lesson 91
slob	s·l·o·b	1	Lesson 26
slog	s·l·o·g	1	Lesson 26
slop	s·l·o·p	1	Lesson 26
slug	s·l·u·g	1	Lesson 26
slum	s·l·u·m	1	Lesson 26
slur	s·l·ur	1	Lesson 81
slabs	s·l·a·b·s	1	Lesson 26
slack	s·l·a·ck	1	Lesson 44
slams	s·l·a·m·s	1	Lesson 26
slant	s·l·a·n·t	1	Lesson 26
slaps	s·l·a·p·s	1	Lesson 26
slate	s·l·a_e·t	1	Lesson 54
slats	s·l·a·t·s	1	Lesson 26
sleds	s·l·e·d·s	1	Lesson 26
sleek	s·l·ee·k	1	Lesson 85
sleet	s·l·ee·t	1	Lesson 85
slick	s·l·i·ck	1	Lesson 44
slime	s·l·i_e·m	1	Lesson 55
slims	s·l·i·m·s	1	Lesson 26
sling	s·l·i·ng	1	Lesson 51
slobs	s·l·o·b·s	1	Lesson 26
slosh	s·l·o·sh	1	Lesson 45
sloth	s·l·o·th	1	Lesson 68
slugs	s·l·u·g·s	1	Lesson 26
slump	s·l·u·m·p	1	Lesson 26
slums	s·l·u·m·s	1	Lesson 26
slung	s·l·u·ng	1	Lesson 51
slurs	s·l·ur·s	1	Lesson 81
slush	s·l·u·sh	1	Lesson 45

Two syllables

The 60 most common of 63 words. 3 more are in our list.

Two syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
slower	s·l·ow·er	2	Lesson 86
slowly	s·l·ow·l·y	2	Lesson 86
slowest	s·l·ow·e·s·t	2	Lesson 86
slightly	s·l·igh·t·l·y	2	Lesson 87
slices	s·l·i_e·c·s	2	Lesson 63
slogan	s·l·o·g·a·n	2	Lesson 68
sloppy	s·l·o·pp·y	2	Lesson 74
slicing	s·l·i·c·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
sliding	s·l·i·d·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
slowing	s·l·ow·i·ng	2	Lesson 86
sleeping	s·l·ee·p·i·ng	2	Lesson 85
slipping	s·l·i·pp·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
slightest	s·l·igh·t·e·s·t	2	Lesson 87
slimy	s·l·i·m·y	2	Lesson 74
slyly	s·l·y·l·y	2	Lesson 74
slated	s·l·a·t·ed	2	Lesson 64
sleepy	s·l·ee·p·y	2	Lesson 85
slacker	s·l·a·ck·er	2	Lesson 80
slanted	s·l·a·n·t·ed	2	Lesson 64
slashes	s·l·a·sh·es	2	Lesson 63
slating	s·l·a·t·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
slavish	s·l·a·v·i·sh	2	Lesson 68
sleeker	s·l·ee·k·er	2	Lesson 85
sleeper	s·l·ee·p·er	2	Lesson 85
slicker	s·l·i·ck·er	2	Lesson 80
slimmer	s·l·i·mm·er	2	Lesson 80
slipper	s·l·i·pp·er	2	Lesson 80
slobber	s·l·o·bb·er	2	Lesson 80
slogans	s·l·o·g·a·n·s	2	Lesson 68
sloping	s·l·o·p·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
slotted	s·l·o·tt·ed	2	Lesson 107
slyness	s·l·y·n·e·ss	2	Lesson 73
slamming	s·l·a·mm·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
slanting	s·l·a·n·t·i·ng	2	Lesson 65
slapping	s·l·a·pp·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
slashing	s·l·a·sh·i·ng	2	Lesson 65
sledding	s·l·e·dd·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
sleekest	s·l·ee·k·e·s·t	2	Lesson 85
sleepers	s·l·ee·p·er·s	2	Lesson 85
slickest	s·l·i·ck·e·s·t	2	Lesson 67b
slighted	s·l·igh·t·ed	2	Lesson 87
slimmest	s·l·i·mm·e·s·t	2	Lesson 67b
slimming	s·l·i·mm·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
slinging	s·l·i·ng·i·ng	2	Lesson 65
slippers	s·l·i·pp·er·s	2	Lesson 80
slipshod	s·l·i·p·sh·o·d	2	Lesson 67a
slogging	s·l·o·gg·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
sloshing	s·l·o·sh·i·ng	2	Lesson 65
slotting	s·l·o·tt·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
slouches	s·l·ou·ch·es	2	Lesson 96
slowness	s·l·ow·n·e·ss	2	Lesson 86
slugging	s·l·u·gg·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
sluggish	s·l·u·gg·i·sh	2	Lesson 67b
sluicing	s·l·ui·c·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
slumping	s·l·u·m·p·i·ng	2	Lesson 65
slurring	s·l·urr·i·ng	2	Lesson 107
slapstick	s·l·a·p·s·t·i·ck	2	Lesson 67a
sleepless	s·l·ee·p·l·e·ss	2	Lesson 85
slighting	s·l·igh·t·i·ng	2	Lesson 87
slingshot	s·l·i·ng·sh·o·t	2	Lesson 67a

Three or more syllables

1 word, most common first.

Three or more syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
slippery	s·l·i·pp·er·y	3	Lesson 80

When do these words become readable?

The lessons where the most words on this page become decodable. Words marked not in the sequence have a spelling the sequence never teaches as a pattern.

Lessons where the most words on this page become readable
Readable after	Words
Lesson 26	30
Lesson 64	7
Lesson 80	7
Lesson 85	14
Lesson 86	8
Lesson 87	6
Lesson 107	17
Lesson 109	5

How do you teach sl words?

Hold the /s/ and glide into /l/. "Sssslip." Sl is among the easiest blends to hear because both sounds can be stretched. Use pairs like lip and slip, lap and slap, lid and slid.

What mistake do students make with sl words?

Students occasionally hear /sw/ or drop the l. Stretch the word and ask what comes after /s/. Slow and slot are good test words because they have no near rhymes that start with s alone.

Where do sl words come in the sequence?

Sl comes with the s and l blends after short vowels. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 35c.

Exceptions worth knowing

In island, s is silent before l. In words like wrestle, s and l are split by a syllable.

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 35c or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

The sled can slip and slam.
A slug slid on the log.
Slap the mud on the rug.

Questions people ask

What are 5 sl words?

Slip, slow, sleep, slight, slower. Those are the five most common of the 147 words that start with the sl blend in our checked list.

Is sl an s blend or an l blend?

Both. It starts with s and ends with l, so it appears in both groups.

What are some sl words?

Slip, sled, slow, sleep, slide, slug, slam and slant.

When can a student read sl words?

Sl words are taught at Lesson 35c in the lesson sequence we use. 30 of the 147 words on this page can be sounded out by then; the rest wait for a pattern taught later, and the tables show the lesson for each word.

How this list was built

Every word comes from our lexicon of common English words, each split into spelling units and checked against a pronouncing dictionary, so a word is listed under the sound its spelling really makes. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out. The readable after lesson comes from our decodability engine, which checks each spelling unit and syllable pattern against the lesson sequence. You can run your own text through the same engine with the free decodable text checker.