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 threelettered 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  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
cage
-ale-ane
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
taleplane race
-ake scale
brace bake
stale
-ape grace cake
Jake
whale cape place fake
-ame tape trace lake
make dame grape
gape space
came drape
-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
cave
wave crave shave slave
tribe Dave gave pave rave
-ice
dice
grave price
twice
lice
slice
mice nice brave rice
splice
vice
-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
-ote note vote rote quote
-ule mule* rule
yule
fluke
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 wants
Mike 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.