Phonics word list
Vowel team words
In short
A vowel team is two or more letters that spell one vowel sound, such as ai in rain, ee in feet, oa in boat, igh in night and oo in moon. Our checked list has 4,418 words with a vowel team.
At a glance
- Words in our list
- 4,418
- By syllables
- one syllable: 1,504 · two syllables: 2,197 · three or more syllables: 717
- Taught in
- Lesson 84 in the sequence
Vowel team 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.
Long a: ai, ay, eigh, ei, ey, ea (aid, aim)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| aid | ai·d | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| aim | ai·m | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| day | d·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| lay | l·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| may | m·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| pay | p·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| say | s·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| way | w·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| aims | ai·m·s | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| days | d·ay·s | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| fail | f·ai·l | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| gain | g·ai·n | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| m·ai·l | 1 | Lesson 84 | |
| main | m·ai·n | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| paid | p·ai·d | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| pain | p·ai·n | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| pays | p·ay·s | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| play | p·l·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| rain | r·ai·n | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| said | s·ai·d | 1 | Lesson 10 (heart word) |
| says | s·ay·s | 1 | Lesson 35a (heart word) |
| stay | s·t·ay | 1 | Lesson 84 |
| they | th·ey | 1 | Lesson 17 (heart word) |
| wait | w·ai·t | 1 | Lesson 84 |
Long and short e: ee, ea, ey, ie, ei (eat, key)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| eat | ea·t | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| key | k·ey | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| see | s·ee | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| tea | t·ea | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| dead | d·ea·d | 1 | Lesson 94 |
| deal | d·ea·l | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| deep | d·ee·p | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| each | ea·ch | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| ease | ea·s·e | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| east | ea·s·t | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| eats | ea·t·s | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| feel | f·ee·l | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| feet | f·ee·t | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| free | f·r·ee | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| head | h·ea·d | 1 | Lesson 94 |
| hear | h·ea·r | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| heat | h·ea·t | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| keen | k·ee·n | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| keep | k·ee·p | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| keys | k·ey·s | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| lead | l·ea·d | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| leaf | l·ea·f | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| mean | m·ea·n | 1 | Lesson 85 |
| meet | m·ee·t | 1 | Lesson 85 |
Long i: igh, ie (die, lie)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| die | d·ie | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| lie | l·ie | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| tie | t·ie | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| dies | d·ie·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| high | h·igh | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| lies | l·ie·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| ties | t·ie·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| fight | f·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| flies | f·l·ie·s | 1 | Lesson 110 |
| fries | f·r·ie·s | 1 | Lesson 110 |
| light | l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| might | m·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| night | n·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| right | r·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| sight | s·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| tight | t·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| tries | t·r·ie·s | 1 | Lesson 110 |
| bright | b·r·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| flight | f·l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| lights | l·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| rights | r·igh·t·s | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| slight | s·l·igh·t | 1 | Lesson 87 |
| higher | h·igh·er | 2 | Lesson 87 |
| highly | h·igh·l·y | 2 | Lesson 87 |
Long o: oa, ow, oe (doe, low)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| doe | d·oe | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| low | l·ow | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| owe | ow·e | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| own | ow·n | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| row | r·ow | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| blow | b·l·ow | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| boat | b·oa·t | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| flow | f·l·ow | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| goes | g·oe·s | 1 | Lesson 32 (heart word) |
| grow | g·r·ow | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| know | kn·ow | 1 | Lesson 98 |
| load | l·oa·d | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| loan | l·oa·n | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| owed | ow·ed | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| owes | ow·e·s | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| road | r·oa·d | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| show | sh·ow | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| slow | s·l·ow | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| float | f·l·oa·t | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| flown | f·l·ow·n | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| grown | g·r·ow·n | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| grows | g·r·ow·s | 1 | Lesson 86 |
| known | kn·ow·n | 1 | Lesson 98 |
| knows | kn·ow·s | 1 | Lesson 98 |
oo, ew, ue, ui (due, few)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| due | d·ue | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| few | f·ew | 1 | Lesson 115 |
| new | n·ew | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| too | t·oo | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| blue | b·l·ue | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| book | b·oo·k | 1 | Lesson 89 |
| boot | b·oo·t | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| clue | c·l·ue | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| drew | d·r·ew | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| flew | f·l·ew | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| food | f·oo·d | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| foot | f·oo·t | 1 | Lesson 89 |
| good | g·oo·d | 1 | Lesson 89 |
| grew | g·r·ew | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| knew | kn·ew | 1 | Lesson 98 |
| look | l·oo·k | 1 | Lesson 30 (heart word) |
| loop | l·oo·p | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| news | n·ew·s | 1 | Lesson 91 |
| pool | p·oo·l | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| poor | p·oo·r | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| room | r·oo·m | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| root | r·oo·t | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| soon | s·oo·n | 1 | Lesson 90 |
| suit | s·ui·t | 1 | Lesson 91 |
au, aw, augh (law, saw)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| law | l·aw | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| saw | s·aw | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| draw | d·r·aw | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| laws | l·aw·s | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| cause | c·au·s·e | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| drawn | d·r·aw·n | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| draws | d·r·aw·s | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| fault | f·au·l·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| pause | p·au·s·e | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| caught | c·augh·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| caused | c·au·s·ed | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| faults | f·au·l·t·s | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| taught | t·augh·t | 1 | Lesson 93 |
| awful | aw·f·u·l | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| author | au·th·or | 2 | Lesson 111 |
| autumn | au·t·u·m·n | 2 | Not in the sequence |
| causes | c·au·s·e·s | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| authors | au·th·or·s | 2 | Lesson 111 |
| awkward | aw·k·w·ar·d | 2 | Lesson 111 |
| because | b·e·c·au·s·e | 2 | Lesson 45 (heart word) |
| causing | c·au·s·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 109 |
| default | d·e·f·au·l·t | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| drawing | d·r·aw·i·ng | 2 | Lesson 93 |
| naughty | n·augh·t·y | 2 | Lesson 93 |
oi, oy, ou, ow (boy, how)
| Word | Spelling units | Syllables | Readable after |
|---|---|---|---|
| boy | b·oy | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| how | h·ow | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| joy | j·oy | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| now | n·ow | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| oil | oi·l | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| out | ou·t | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| down | d·ow·n | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| join | j·oi·n | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| town | t·ow·n | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| bound | b·ou·n·d | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| brown | b·r·ow·n | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| count | c·ou·n·t | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| doubt | d·ou·b·t | 1 | Not in the sequence |
| found | f·ou·n·d | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| house | h·ou·s·e | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| joins | j·oi·n·s | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| joint | j·oi·n·t | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| mouth | m·ou·th | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| noise | n·oi·s·e | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| point | p·oi·n·t | 1 | Lesson 95 |
| pound | p·ou·n·d | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| round | r·ou·n·d | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| route | r·ou·t·e | 1 | Lesson 96 |
| sound | s·ou·n·d | 1 | Lesson 96 |
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.
How do you teach vowel team words?
Teach one team per lesson with its own sound card, then group teams by the sound they share. "Ai and ay both say /ā/. Which one goes at the end?" The old line about the first vowel doing the talking holds for only some teams, so skip it. Show the student which teams have one sound (ee, oa, igh, ai) and which have two or three (ea, ow, oo, ie). The tables here group words by sound, which is how teams are best learned.
What mistake do students make with vowel team words?
Students read each vowel separately (/ă/ /ĭ/ for ai). Underline the team before reading and say, "Partners. One sound." The bigger long-term problem is spelling: knowing that /ā/ is ai, ay, a_e or eigh is not the same as knowing which one a given word uses. Sorting by position helps more than memorizing lists.
Where do vowel team words come in the sequence?
Vowel teams come after silent e, open syllables and r-controlled vowels in most programs. Long vowel teams (ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow, igh, ie) come first; then oo, ew, ue, au and aw; then the diphthongs oi, oy, ou and ow. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 84.
Exceptions worth knowing
Several teams change sound from word to word: ea in eat, head and great; ow in snow and cow; oo in moon and book; ie in pie and field. Our pages split those words by sound.
Decodable sentences
Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 84 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.
- The goat ate the green grass by the road.
- We saw the moon at night.
- The boy found a coin on the beach.
Questions people ask
What are 5 vowel team words?
Is the rule about two vowels walking true?
What is the difference between a vowel team and a diphthong?
When can a student read vowel team words?
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.