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Word families: The 37 most common word families in English

March 29, 2021
Words List, English

Word families ! They are groups of words that have a common pattern or groups of letters with the same sound.  For example, at, cat, hat, and fat are a family of words with the “at” sound and letter combination in common.

Word families

Word families List

The following is a list of the most common word families in English

ack	ad	age	ail	ain	ake	ale	all	am
attack	ad	age	ail	brain	awake	ale	all	cam
back	bad	cage	fail	chain	bake	bale	ball	clam
black	brad	engage	hail	complain	brake	dale	call	dam
crack	cad	rage	jail	explain	cake	gale	fall	dram
hack	clad	sage	mail	gain	fake	kale	gall	exam
Jack	dad	stage	nail	grain	flake	male	hall	gram
knack	doodad	wage	pail	main	Jake	pale	install	ham
lack	glad		rail	obtain	lake	sale	mall	jam
pack	had		sail	pain	make	scale	small	lam
quack	lad		snail	plain	quake	stale	squall	ma’am
rack	mad		tail	rain	rake	tale	stall	Pam
sack	pad		wail	slain	sake	whale	tall	ram
snack	sad			Spain	shake		thrall	Sam
stack				sprain	snake		wall	scam
tack				stain	stake			slam
track				strain	take			spam
whack				train	wake			swam
Zack				vain				tam
								tram
								wham
								yam

ame	an	ank	ap	ar	ash	at	ate	aw
blame		bank	cap	afar	ash		abate	caw
came	ban	blank	clap	bar	bash	bat	ate	claw
fame	bran	crank	flap	car	brash	brat	crate	draw
flame	can	dank	gap	czar	cash	cat	date	flaw
frame	clan	drank	lap	far	clash	chat	debate	gnaw
game	Dan	flank	map	gar	crash	fat	fate	jaw
lame	fan	frank	nap	guitar	dash	flat	gate	law
name	flan	Hank	rap	jar	flash	gnat	grate	paw
same	Fran	plank	sap	mar	gash	hat	hate	raw
shame	Jan	prank	scrap	par	gnash	mat	Kate	saw
tame	Japan	rank	slap	scar	hash	pat	late	slaw
	man	sank	snap	spar	lash	rat	mate	straw
	pan	shrank	strap	star	mash	sat	plate	thaw
	pecan	spank	tap	tar	rash	slat	rate
	plan	tank	trap	tsar	sash	spat	relate
	ran	thank	wrap		slash	tat	sate
							skate
							state

ay	eat	eel	eep	eet	ell	en	ent	est
away	beat	eel	beep	beet	bell	amen	accent	best
bay	cheat	feel	creep	feet	cell	Ben	bent	chest
bray	cleat	heel	deep	fleet	dell	children	cent	crest
clay	eat	keel	jeep	greet	dwell	den	dent	jest
day	feat	kneel	keep	meet	farewell	fen	event	nest
decay	greet	peel	peep	sheet	fell	gentlemen	gent	pest
delay	heat	reel	seep	sleet	hell	glen	lent	quest
display	meat	steel	sheep	street	sell	Gwen	rent	rest
flay	neat	wheel	sleep	sweet	shell	hen	scent	test
gay	peat		steep	tweet	smell	men	sent	unrest
gray	pleat		sweep		spell	open	spent	vest
hay	seat		weep		swell	pen	tent	west
jay	treat				tell	then	vent	zest
lay	wheat				well	ten	went
may					yell	when
nay						wren

ice	ick	ide	ife	ight	ile	ill	in	ine
dice	brick	bride	fife	bright	bile	bill	bin	brine
ice	chick	decide	knife	delight	file	chill	chin	decline
mice	click	glide	life	fight	mile	dill	din	define
nice	flick	hide	strife	flight	Nile	drill	fin	dine
price	kick	pride	wife	fright	pile	fill	gin	fine
rice	lick	ride		height	rile	frill	grin	line
slice	nick	side		knight	smile	gill	in	mine
spice	pick	slide		light	stile	grill	kin	nine
splice	quick	stride		might	tile	hill	pin	pine
thrice	Rick	tide		night	vile	ill	shin	shine
twice	sick	wide		plight	while	Jill	skin	shrine
vice	slick			right		kill	sin	sine
	stick			sight		krill	spin	spine
	thick			slight		mill	thin	swine
	tick			tight		pill	tin	tine
	trick			tonight		quill	twin	twine
	wick					shrill	win	vine
						sill
						skill
						spill
						still
						swill
						thrill
						thrill
						till
						trill

ing	ink	ip	it	oat	ock	og	oil	oke
bring	blink	blip	admit	boat	block	blog	boil	awoke
cling	brink	chip	bit	coat	clock	bog	broil	bloke
fling	drink	dip	fit	float	cock	catalog	coil	broke
king	fink	drip	flit	gloat	crock	clog	foil	choke
ping	ink	flip	grit	goat	dock	cog	oil	joke
ring	link	grip	hit	oat	flock	dog	soil	poke
sing	mink	hip	it	stoat	frock	fog	spoil	smoke
sling	pink	lip	kit	throat	hock	frog	toil	spoke
spring	rink	nip	knit		jock	hog		stoke
sting	shrink	quip	lit		knock	jog		stroke
string	sink	rip	mit		lock	log		woke
swing	stink	ship	pit		mock	slog		yoke
thing	think	sip	quit		o’clock	smog
wing	wink	skip	sit		rock
wring		slip	skit		shock
zing		snip	slit		smock
		strip	snit		sock
		tip	spit		stock
		trip	split
		whip	twit
		zip	wit

oo	ood	ood	oof	oof	ook	oom	ool	oon
boo	good	brood	goof	hoof	book	bloom	cool	balloon
coo	hood	food	proof	woof	brook	boom	drool	goon
goo	stood	mood	roof		cook	broom	fool	loon
igloo	wood		spoof		crook	doom	pool	moon
moo					hook	gloom	spool	noon
shoo					look	groom	stool	soon
too					nook	loom	tool	spoon
woo					rook	room		swoon
zoo					shook	zoom
					took

oop	oot (long oo)	oot (short oo)	op	ore	orn	ot	ought	ould
coop	boot	foot	bop	bore	adorn	apricot	bought	could
droop	hoot	soot	chop	chore	born	blot	brought	should
hoop	scoot		cop	core	corn	bot	fought	would
loop	shoot		crop	fore	forlorn	clot	ought
scoop			drop	gore	horn	cot	sought
snoop			flop	lore	morn	dot	thought
stoop			hop	more	scorn	forgot	wrought
troop			lop	ore	shorn	got
			mop	pore	thorn	hot
			plop	score	torn	jot
			pop	shore	worn	knot
			prop	sore		lot
				spore		not
				store		plot
				swore		pot
				tore		rot
				wore		shot
				yore		slot

ouse	out	ow (rhymes with cow)	ow (rhymes with low)	own	uck	ug	ump	un	unk
douse	about	bow	bow	brown	buck	bug	bump	bun	bunk
grouse	bout	cow	blow	crown	chuck	dug	clump	fun	chunk
house	clout	chow	crow	down	cluck	hug	dump	gun	drunk
louse	gout	how	flow	drown	duck	jug	grump	nun	dunk
mouse	grout	now	glow	frown	luck	lug	hump	pun	flunk
spouse	out	plow	grow	gown	muck	mug	jump	run	funk
	lout	sow	low	nightgown	puck	plug	lump	shun	hunk
	pout	vow	mow	town	pluck	pug	plump	spun	junk
	scout	wow	row		stuck	rug	pump	stun	lunk
	shout		show		struck	shrug	rump	sun	plunk
	snout		slow		truck	smug	slump		punk

List of Word families with Examples and Pictures

• Words that Rhyme with Ad: 

1. I love my dad.
2. Behind bad luck comes good luck.
3. He is a handsome lad.
4. We all felt sad about his death.
5. I’m glad that the exams are over.
6. He was mad with me for losing his watch.
7. She wrote on a pad of paper.   

• Words that Rhyme with At:

1. She sat up in bed, listening.
2. The cat was clawing at the door.
3. Wipe your feet on the mat.
4. She was wearing a red hat.
5. He gave the dog a pat.
6. I think he’s too fat.
7. A rat squeaked and ran into the bushes.
8. The bat is flying with swiftness.

• Words that Rhyme with An:   

1. She fried the eggs in a frying pan.
2. A man is known by his friends.
3.  She cooled herself with a fan.
4. They ran straight across the road .
5. Fran has a can of beer.
6. The man has a van.
7. Jan is from Japan.
8. The plan began.

• Words that Rhyme with Am:

1. Be careful of that ram —it butts you.
2. A new dam is now being built.
3. The yam pieces were then simmered in water with the sailcloth for ten or twelve hours.
4. Put the jam in the jar over there.
5. Would you like another slice of ham/beef?
6. From the salad to the clam chowder to the pasta with grilled peppers and chicken, dinner was perfect.
7. I think I did OK in the exam.
8. We heard a car door slam.

• Words that Rhyme with Ap:

1. When you want a bath,you turn on the tap.
2. The water was dripping from the tap.
3. Do you see this point on the map?
4. He picked his cap up from the floor and stuck it back on his head.
5. I want to take a nap.
6. She’s a good singer. Let’s clap her on.
7. With a flap of its wings, the bird was gone.
8. Come and sit on Grandpa’s lap!
9. The road goes through a gap in/between the hills.

• Words that Rhyme with Ar:

1. The car is in very good condition.
2. He that travels far knows much. 
3.  His guitar solos are just unbelievable.
4. He put the lid on the jar.
5. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky.
6. We use tar to make roads.
7. We were all in the bar sipping cocktails
8. He had a scar on his forehead.

Most common Word Families | Pictures

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Word families are groups of words having same combinations of letters in them and a similar sound. They are considered an essential part of phonics building exercise for kindergarten kids.

Today we will discuss about the EN word family which includes words like ben, den, children, etc. and end with en sound.

EN Family Words for Kids

Following is a list of phonics words ending with en sound.

• amen
• Ben
• children
• den
• glen
• hen
• men
• open
• pen
• then
• ten
• when
• wren

Notice the List mostly consists of 3-letter en CVC words like ben, den, pen, ten etc. where Letter ‘e’ is used a vowel between two different consonant Letters.

Homeschooling families and teachers can use word family worksheets to introduce students to set of EN sound words.

21 Free Word Family Printables to Help Beginning Readers

Storytime Standouts features 21 free word family printables for kindergarten, grade one and homeschool

Whether supporting my own children as they learned to read, tutoring kindergarten and/or grade one children who are struggling with reading or presenting my Beginning to Read program, I have always been a great fan of teaching Word Families.

Introducing the concept of Word Families helps kindergarten and first grade students understand that elements of words are the same. Three words may have different parts but they may also be very alike. Once a child learns to decode the word “RING,” he can be encouraged to substitute the beginning sound and read, “SING,” “KING,” or “BRING” with word family materials.

The idea of substituting a beginning sound (or an ending sound) can be introduced long before a child is learning to read. Phonemic Awareness activities will encourage preschool and kindergarten children to play with sounds. A young child with good phonemic awareness skills will grasp the idea of decoding Word Families very quickly.

If you are working with a child who is not reading at the expected level, we think that phonemic awareness should be one of the very first things that is assessed.

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10 Printable Word Family Flip Books for Kindergarten and First Grade –

An easy way for children to learn and practice the an, at, ed, ell, ick, ing, op, ot, ug and uck word families

I use these Word Family flip books in my Beginning to Read program. I find they are terrific for encouraging young children to see the relationship between BAT, CAT, FAT, MAT, PAT, RAT and SAT.

For good readers, it is very obvious that bed, fed, led, red and Ted are related. They all end the with “ED.” For a beginning reader, the relationship between these words may not be understood. When children create and use a Word Family flip book, they will notice the relationship between the letters and the words and they quickly learn to substitute the beginning sounds. Before long, they discover that they can read several words quite easily.

Word family flip books are easy to make* and can be tucked into a pocket or a backpack for extra practice at home or on the road.

We really recommend that children make the flip books themselves.

  10 Word Family Flip Books

10 printable Word family flipbooks, great learning resources for children in kindergarten and first grade.

Printable PDFs for the an, at, ed, ell, ick, ing, op, ot, ug and uck word families

  How to Make a Word Family Flip Book

Instructions for assembling a word family flip book for beginning readers. Great for kindergarten and first grade.

Free Word Family Printables – Words with Pictures for Kindergarten and Grade One

I also use these Word Family printables in my Beginning to Read program. For children who are not quite ready to decode words, the picture clues provide additional support.

Short A Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers

  The «All» Word Family

Free — all word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «An» Word Family

Free -an word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Ap» Word Family

Free -ap word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «At» Word Family

Free -at word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Am» Word Family

Free -am word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

Short E Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers

  The «Ed» Word Family

Free -ed word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Ell» Word Family

Free -ell word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «En» Word Family

Free -en word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Et» Word Family

Free -et word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Est» Word Family

Free -est word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

Short I Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers

  The «Ig» Word Family

Free — ig word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Ip» Word Family

Free -ip word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «It» Word Family

Free -it word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Ill» Word Family

Free -ill word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

Short O Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers

  The «Og» Word Family

Free -og word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Op» Word Family

Free -op word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Ot» Word Family

Free -ot word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Ock» Word Family

Free -ock word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

Short U Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers

  The «Ub» Word Family

Free -ub word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

  The «Ug» Word Family

Free -ug word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

You will find our selection of free writing paper for kids here , our free printable picture dictionaries here and all of our homeschool, preschool and kindergarten printables together with parent/teacher resources here.

We invite you to follow Storytime Standouts’ Word Family Board on Pinterest

I have designed 154 printable flashcards featuring word families. Originally I created a small bunch of such cards with most common word families to teach my little son to read in English. My son has been learning English as a foreign language since childhood so, when he was a toddler, I started to design printable reading cards incorporating lists of words with a common ending (up to 12 words on each flashcard) and up to 9 pictures representing some of the words. The rhyming words made it easier for my son to start reading in English while observing and getting used to the spelling patterns of English words. The bright pictures helped me draw his attention to the cards and let him memorize some useful words thus expanding his vocabulary.

Later I decided to use the word family flashcards for my English classes with young students. The kids seemed to love the picture cards, and over time I made even more flashcards for my EFL teaching practice. At the moment my printable word family set counts 154 cards. There are more than 870 words illustrated with child-appealing pictures incorporated on the flashcards.

ab word family flashcard

The whole collection of cards features the following word families: -ab, -able, -ace, -ack, -ad, -ade, -aid, -ail, -ain, -air, -ag, -age, -ake, -ale, -alk, -all, -am, -ame, -amp, -an, -ance, -and, -ane, -ank, -ant, -ap, -ape, -ar, -ard, -ar, -ark, -arm, -arp, -art, -ase, -ash, -ass, -at, -ate, -atch, -ave, -aw, -ay, -ea, -each, -eak, -eal, -eam, -eck, -eek, -eel, -een, -eep, -eet, -ed, -eg, -ell, -en, -end, -est, -et, -ib, -ice, -ick, -ickle, -id, -ide, -ife, -ig, -iff, -ike, -ile, -ill, -im, -ime, -in, -ine, -ing, -ink, -ip, -ipe, -ire, -ish, -iss, -ist, -it, -ite, -ive, -ix, -oad, -oat, -ob, -obe, -ock, -ocket, -od, -ode, -oe, -oil, -oin, -og, -oke, -old, -ole, -oll, -ome, -one, -ong, -oo, -oom, -op, -ope, -ore, -ood, -ook, -ool, -oop, -oot, -ose, -oss, -ot, -ote, -oth, -oulder, -ound, -ouse, -ove, -ow, -ox, -oy, -ub, -uck, -ud, -ude, -ue, -ug, -uff, -un, -ull, -une, -ule, -um, -ume, -ump, -unk, -up, -us, -use, -uss, -ut, -ute. I’d like to show my fellow EFL and ESL teachers some of the flashcards here on this blog. The rest can be seen in the preview. If you like the idea of teaching kids to read English words with visually enhanced printable word family cards, you are welcome to purchase all of them in a high resolution printer-friendly PDF file.

ad word family flashcard

ag word family flashcard

ake word family flashcard

am word family flashcard

an word family flashcard

at word family flashcard

ed word family flashcard

eep word family flashcard

en word family flashcard

ice word family flashcard

op word family flashcard

ot word family flashcard

un word family flashcard

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Word families worksheets. At words.

More information

Word Family Lists *SAMPLE*

If you want to teach your children how to read then word families are a good place to start. I have designed a large set of word family worksheets, flashcards, and even a free workbook for you to download.

The word family materials included can be used as worksheets or as flashcards by laminating them and cutting them out. I have also designed some simple sentences using the CVC words which means after children can read the word families, they can practice reading them in sentences!

Word Families Workbook
DOWNLOAD

I have made a printable workbook that can be used as a structured way to improve your child’s reading. The workbook contains word family CVC sentences that are easy to read. The word family workbook is a great resource to use at home or at your kindergarten!

CVC Sentences PDF DOWNLOAD HERE!

If the workbook is too difficult, I recommend practicing the word family sheets below. you can use the sheets for practicing reading each of the word families.

-ad, -ag, -am, -an, -ap, -at, -ack word family worksheets PDF

ad	ag	am	an	ap	at	ack
bad	bag	am	ban	bap	bat	back
dad	rag	bam	can	cap	cat	hack
had	tag	dam	fan	gap	fat	lack
lad	wag	ham	man	lap	hat	pack
mad		jam	nan	map	mat	rack
pad		Sam	pan	nap	pat	sack
rad		Pam	ran	rap	rat	tack
sad		ram	tan	tap	sat
tad		yam	van	zap	vat

-ed, -en, -et, -eck, -ell, -est word family worksheets PDF

Here are all the CVC word family worksheets containing ‘e’. Just like the previous word family, try to avoid teaching the 4 letter words until later. You will notice that names like ‘Ben’ are capitalized. I recommend laminating the worksheets so that they can be traced and reused.

ed	en	et	eck	ell	est
bed	Ben	bet	deck	bell	best
fed	den	get	neck	dell	jest
led	hen	jet		fell	nest
red	Ken	let		hell	pest
Ted	men	met		sell	rest
	Pen	net		tell	test
	Ten	pet		well	vest
	yen	vet		yell	west
		wet			zest

-ig, -ip, -it, -in, – ip, -it word family worksheets PDF

With the ‘i’ word family worksheets, I have not included any 4 letter words. Please let me know if you would like some and I can add to this collection as time goes on. Remember that children don’t have to know all of the words, they just need to learn the skill of decoding.

ig	in	ip	it
big	in	dip	bit
dig	bin	hip	fit
fig	kin	kip	hit
pig	pin	lip	kit
rig	sin	pip	lit
wig	tin	rip	pit
	win	sip	sit
		tip	wit
		zip	zit

-ob, -og, -ot word family worksheets PDF

Here are the ‘o’ CVC words. Feel free to teach only the easier words from the word family. If I was to teach this word family to younger students, I would probably choose Bob, dog, and pot. When discussing the meaning of words, its always easier to use nouns.

ob	og	ot
bob	bog	cot
cob	cog	dot
fob	dog	got
hob	fog	hot
job	hog	jot
lob	jog	lot
mob	log	not
rob		pot
yob		rot

-ub, -ug, -un, -ut, -uck, -ump word family worksheets PDF

Finally, we have the ‘u’ word families. Remember with all of these flashcards and materials, you don’t have to do them all in order for your child to read. If a student can read at a reasonable speed, on around 70 percent of the 3 letter CVC word, then you can start using the word family workbook!

ub	ug	un	ut	uck	ump
cub	bug	bun	but	buck	bump
dub	dug	fun	cut	duck	dump
hub	hug	gun	gut	luck	hump
pub	jug	hun	hut	muck	jump
rub	mug	nun	put	puck	lump
sub	pug	pun		suck	pump
tub	rug	run		tuck	rump
	tug			yuck

Easy reading word family sheets PDF

If it feels like there are too many sheets to print out, I also prepared some more sheets that are designed specifically for reading. These flashcards will work well if you have many students and not enough materials : )

If you need any help downloading the flashcards, or would like to see a step by step guide of how to print the flashcards, click here!

Word families are groups of words that go together. They have similar or common features or patterns. They can occur in the prefix, the suffix, or in the root word itself. They are sometimes referred to as groups or chunks. Word families all have the same combinations of letters somewhere in the word. They frequently appear in poems and rhymes (especially nursery rhymes). For example:

“Jack and Jill
Went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down,
And broke his crown.
And Jill came tumbling after.”

Word families can be an important tool when teaching people to read or speak a language. New readers are able to recognize the word patterns, and teachers help them to understand the combinations and sounds.

The National Council of Teachers of English has identified 37 different word families. They are listed below with examples of words that are included in the family.

Ack	Ain	Ake	Ale
Attack	Brain	Awake	Ale
Back	Chain	Bake	Bale
Knack	Complain	Cake	Dale
Lack	Explain	Lake	Female
Quack	Gain	Make	Gale
Rack	Pain	Quake	Male
Sack	Plain	Rake	Pale
Snack	Strain	Sake	Sale
Tack	Train	Snake	Tale
Whack	Vain	Take	Whale

All	Ame	An	Ank
Ball	Blame	Ban	Bank
Call	Came	Bran	Blank
Fall	Dame	Can	Crank
Hall	Fame	Fan	Drank
Mall	Game	Japan	Flank
Small	Lame	Pan	Rank
Squall	Name	Pecan	Shrank
Stall	Same	Scan	Spank
Tall	Shame	Tan	Tank
Wall	Tame	Van	Thank

Ap	Ash	At	Ate
Cap	Cash	At	Abate
Clap	Clash	Brat	Ate
Flap	Crash	Cat	Debate
Lap	Dash	Chat	Fat
Map	Hash	Fat	Grate
Scrap	Lash	Mat	Late
Slap	Mash	Rat	Mate
Tap	Rash	Slat	Plate
Trop	Splash	That	Skate
Wrap	Stash	Vat	State

Aw	Ay	Eat	Ell
Claw	Away	Beat	Bell
Draw	Clay	Bleat	Cell
Flaw	Day	Cheat	Dell
Jaw	Display	Cleat	Dwell
Law	Gay	Heat	Farewell
Paw	Pray	Meat	Fell
Raw	Ray	Neat	Hell
Saw	Stay	Seat	Sell
Straw	Today	Treat	Tell
Thaw	Tray	Wheat	Yell

Est	Ice	Ine	Ide
Best	Dice	Brine	Bride
Chest	Ice	Decline	Decide
Crest	Lice	Define	Guide
Jest	Mice	Dine	Hide
Nest	Price	Fine	Ride
Pest	Rice	Mine	Side
Rest	Spice	Pine	Slide
Test	Splice	Shrine	Stride
Unrest	Twice	Whine	Tide
West	Vice	Wine	Wide

Ick	In	Ight	Ill (ill)
Brick	Bin	Bright	Bill
Flick	Chin	Delight	Chill
Kick	Grin	Fight	Dill
Lick	In	Flight	Fill
Nick	Kin	Light	Kill
Pick	Shin	Might	Shrill
Sick	Skin	Night	Still
Stick	Twin	Sight	Swill
Thick	Win	Tight	Thrill
Trick	Within	Tonight	Will
Wick

Ing	Ink	Ip	It
Bring	Blink	Dip	Admit
King	Drink	Grip	Bit
Ping	Fink	Hip	Fit
Ring	Link	Lip	Flit
Sing	Mink	Ship	Grit
Spring	Pink	Sip	Knit
Sting	Rink	Snip	Lit
String	Sink	Strip	Pit
Thing	Stink	Trip	Quit
Wing	Wink	Whip	Split

Ock	Oke	Op	Ore
Block	Awoke	Cop	Chore
Clock	Bloke	Drop	Core
Dock	Choke	Flop	Fore
Frock	Joke	Hop	Gore
Lock	Poke	Mop	More
Mock	Smoke	Plop	Ore
Rock	Spoke	Pop	Sore
Shock	Stroke	Shop	Store
Sock	Woke	Strop	Tore
Stock	Yoke	Top	Wore

Ot	Uck	Ug	Ump	Unk
Clot	Buck	Bug	Bump	Bunk
Cot	Chuck	Dug	Clump	Clunk
Dot	Duck	Hug	Hump	Dunk
Forgot	Luck	Jug	Jump	Funk
Hot	Muck	Lug	Lump	Hunk
Lot	Pluck	Mug	Plump	Junk
Not	Struck	Rug	Rump	Punk
Plot	Stuck	Shrug	Stump	Skunk
Pot	Truck	Smug	Thump	Sunk
Spot	Tuck	Thug	Trump	Trunk

Other Word Families

There are many other word families beyond the most common 37. Below are some others that occur on a regular basis.

Ad	Ail	Am	Ar
Ad	Ail	Clam	Afar
Bad	Fail	Dam	Bar
Cad	Hail	Exam	Car
Clad	Jail	Gram	Far
Dad	Mail	Jam	Par
Glad	Pail	Ram	Pillar
Had	Rail	Slam	Scar
Lad	Sail	Spam	Spar
Mad	Snail	Tram	Star
Sad	Tail	Wham	Tar

Eet	En	Ent	Eel
Feet	Amen	Bent	Cartwheel
Fleet	Children	Dent	Eel
Greet	Den	Event	Feel
Meet	Even	Gent	Genteel
Parakeet	Hen	Innocent	Heel
Sheet	Men	Lent	Keel
Street	Omen	Scent	Peel
Sweet	Pen	Sent	Reel
Tweet	Ten	Tent	Steel
	When	Went	Wheel

Eep	Ile	Oat	Og
Asleep	Bile	Boat	Blog
Beep	File	Coat	Catalog
Creep	Juvenile	Float	Clog
Deep	Mile	Gloat	Defog
Jeep	Pile	Goat	Dog
Seep	Smile	Moat	Frog
Sheep	Tile	Oat	Hog
Sleep	Vile	Sloat	Hotdog
Steep	Volatile	Sugarcoat	Jog
Weep	While	Throat	Smog

Oil	Ool	Oom	Oon
Boil	Cool	Bathroom	Baboon
Broil	Drool	Bloom	Balloon
Charbroil	Fool	Boom	Goon
Coil	Pool	Classroom	Maroon
Foil	School	Doom	Moon
Oil	Spool	Groom	Noon
Recoil	Stool	Loom	Soon
Soil	Tool	Room	Spoon
Spoil	Uncool	Storeroom	Toon
Toil	Wool	Zoom	Tycoon
Topsoil

Oop	Ow	Ought
Coop	Blow	Afterthought
Droop	Bow	Bought
Goop	Crow	Brought
Hoop	Flow	Forethought
Loop	Grow	Fought
Scoop	Mow	Ought
Snoop	Row	Overthought
Stoop	Show	Overwrought
Swoop	Snow	Thought
Troop	Tow	Wrought

Placement in Words

There are many other word families, and they can occur anywhere in a word. Some examples are:

A meaning “on”	Act meaning “do”	Dis meaning “un”
Adrift,	Actor	Disagree
Aside	Action	Dishonest
Ashore	Activate	Disavow

Ject meaning “to throw”	Gen meaning “to produce”	Poly meaning “many”
Eject	General	Polygamy
Interject	Generate	Monopoly
Subject	Pathogen	Polyester

Risk of Focusing on Word Families

There is one pitfall that new readers can encounter when learning word families. Because they focus so much attention on the second part of the word, they can skip over the first part. They then have to go back to the start of the word.

This results in jerky eye movement. Instead of a steady progression across the page from left to right, the reader jumps around. This could actually reinforce dyslexic tendencies.

Conclusion:

Word families help students to learn to read and pronounce English. Because they learn to recognize the “chunks” of words that are in each family, they can make connections to other words. This helps new readers correctly predict how other words will sound.

New readers are able to take single-syllable words and break them down. There will often be a consonant at the start of the word and a word family group at the end. By breaking down even short words, the new reader is able to improve their spelling, understand new words (by comparing them to old), and improve their reading fluency.

By using the 37 common word families, new readers will be able to learn an estimated 500 words. If other word families are included, the number of new words can grow dramatically.

List of Word Families | Image

List of Word Families

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37 Most Common Word Families

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37 Different Word Families

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List of Word Families in English

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Last Updated on May 20, 2021

Introduction

Are you struggling to help your child understand how to read? There are many things that you can do to help encourage literacy, one of which includes teaching your child word families.

Word families are the grouping of common letters into similar word lists. In short, if your child understands the word family, they’ll be able to understand a list of words with the word family in common.

This guide will not only explain the various word families in the English language but also give you tips and tricks on how to increase reading comprehension.

A word family is a group of letters that are combined to make a specific sound. For example, -ack, -am-, and -at are all word families.

The purpose of understanding a word family is the notion that if you can identify one word, you should be able to identify many others with the common word family. So, if your child can sound out “back,” then they should easily be able to sound out “smack, tack, and rack” as well.

This is also the foundation of understanding how words work together to create a rhyme. Since these words all sound the same, you can combine them to make them have the same flow and rhyme scheme.

Word families increase with difficulty as children age. The first world families that are taught are generally simple, like “at” (for “cat, bat, and sat”). As children age, they will be asked to identify more complex word families like “ain” (or “rain, refrain, and stain”).

Word families and sight words work together to help children learn how to read. All of these words are high-frequency words, which means that children will see them often. When children can identify them quickly and easily, they can become more persuasive writers.

Examples

According to Wylie and Durrell, there are 37 common word families in the English language. In actuality, there are many more than 37, but these are the highest frequency words.

Many popular nursery rhymes include these 37 word families. They are simple because each letter is pronounced the way it should be. The only time that words are not pronounced as they are spelled is in the event of two vowels being next to each other. When you encounter one of these two-vowel words (like rain), the rule is to pronounce the first vowel only.

Below is a list of examples for each of the 37 most popular word families.

Tips and Tricks for Teaching Reading

When beginning to teach your child to read, you will want to blend information from word families and sight words to help your child start identifying words.

To do this, pick a list of words that matches their age-level and start practicing those words only. When your child can identify these words in a text, it means that they are beginning to see the patterns and identify those high-frequency words in writing.

When you begin teaching word families, start with one of the easier ones first, like am. Once they can identify am, sound it out, and find words that end in am, move to a more complicated word.

Once your child understands how to form these word families into actual words, they will be able to spell and read them!

If your child struggles with some of the foundational skills associated with reading, consider adding a workbook to their daily practice. ArgoPrep has worked with educators to deliver high-quality practice that will entertain, educate, and excite your child. These workbooks are especially helpful for students who might need a little extra attention to reading comprehension, English language skills, and more.

Conclusion

My daughter loves to build things with Magnatiles. She will grab all of the tiles and construct fantastic castles, homes, and more with the simple building tools. But what happens when she builds a weak base? We all know. It can’t stand, it’s not steady, and it falls.

Learning how to read can kind of be similar to building a weak structure. Identifying something as simple as a word family seems like a mindless activity for us. Still, for kids, it’s necessary to understand the increasingly tricky skills that kids learn for reading comprehension.

Taking the time to learn word families will help them identify words more quickly and spell with more accuracy. This list of 37 high-frequency word families is a great place to start, but once your child masters it, consider researching more challenging word families to increase comprehension!

Word Families are a group of words with the same ending. For example cat, rat, mat, hat, bat are all part of the “at” word family. Learning about word families is a key part of learning to read. Children can pick up on patterns and rhyming sounds very quickly which in turn lends to reading confidence and success.

How to use Word Family Printable Charts:
Our word family worksheets can be adapted to many different levels based on your needs. Younger children can color them in as you say the rhyming words together.

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Progressive students can match a letter tile over each picture for the beginning letter sound. Advanced children can write the letter or entire word next to the picture.

Tip: Print a classroom set and mount to colored construction paper. Hang them throughout the classroom for visual interest. Additionally, if you can print these at smaller sizes to make flashcards for your students.