What are word families?
Word families are groups of words that have a common feature or pattern - they have some of the same combinations of letters in them and a similar sound. For example, at, cat, hat, and fat are a family of words with the “at” sound and letter combination in common.
The 37 most common word families in English (according to Wylie and Durrell) are: ack, ain, ake, ale, all, ame, an, ank, ap, ash, at, ate, aw ay, eat, ell, est, ice, ick, ide, ight, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it, ock, oke, op, ore, ot, uck ,ug, ump, unk.
Many of the nursery rhymes contain common word families. You can use these rhymes to teach these letter combinations (and how they are spelled and spoken), having the students sound them out after memorizing the rhyme. You can study one word family a week. Students can use the Little Explorers Picture Dictionary to look for more words that belong to word families.
Word Families
The following is a list of the most common word families in English (from Wylie and Durrell, 1970, plus a few extra word families) and examples of each.
Jump to word family lists: ack, ad, age, ail, ain, ake, ale, all, am, ame, an, ank, ap, ar, ash, at, ate, aw, ay, eat, eel, eep, eet, ell, en, ent, est, ice, ick, ide, ife, ight, ile, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it, oat, ock, og, oil, oke, oo, ood, ood, oof, oof, ook, oom, ool, oon, oop, op, ore, orn, ot, ought, ould, ouse, out, ow (rhymes with cow), ow (rhymes with low), own, uck, ug, ump, un, unk
ack
- attack
- back
- black
- crack
- hack
- Jack
- knack
- lack
- pack
- quack
- rack
- sack
- snack
- stack
- tack
- track
- whack
- Zack
ad
- ad
- bad
- brad
- cad
- clad
- dad
- doodad
- glad
- had
- lad
- mad
- pad
- sad
age
- age
- cage
- engage
- rage
- sage
- stage
- wage
ail
- ail
- fail
- hail
- jail
- nail
- pail
- rail
- sail
- snail
- tail
- wail
ain
- brain
- chain
- complain
- explain
- gain
- grain
- main
- obtain
- pain
- plain
- rain
- slain
- Spain
- sprain
- stain
- strain
- train
- vain
ake
- awake
- bake
- brake
- cake
- fake
- flake
- Jake
- lake
- make
- quake
- rake
- sake
- shake
- snake
- stake
- take
- wake
ale
- ale
- bale
- dale
- gale
- kale
- male
- pale
- sale
- scale
- stale
- tale
- whale
all
- all
- ball
- call
- fall
- gall
- hall
- install
- mall
- small
- squall
- stall
- tall
- thrall
- wall
am
- cam
- clam
- dam
- dram
- exam
- gram
- ham
- jam
- lam
- ma’am
- Pam
- ram
- Sam
- scam
- slam
- spam
- swam
- tam
- tram
- wham
- yam
ame
- blame
- came
- fame
- flame
- frame
- game
- lame
- name
- same
- shame
- tame
an
- an
- ban
- bran
- can
- clan
- Dan
- fan
- flan
- Fran
- Jan
- Japan
- man
- pan
- pecan
- plan
- ran
- scan
- span
- Stan
- tan
- than
- van
ank
- bank
- blank
- crank
- dank
- drank
- flank
- frank
- Hank
- plank
- prank
- rank
- sank
- shrank
- spank
- tank
- thank
- yank
ap
- cap
- clap
- flap
- gap
- lap
- map
- nap
- rap
- sap
- scrap
- slap
- snap
- strap
- tap
- trap
- wrap
- yap
- zap
ar
- afar
- bar
- car
- czar
- far
- gar
- guitar
- jar
- mar
- par
- scar
- spar
- star
- tar
- tsar
ash
- ash
- bash
- brash
- cash
- clash
- crash
- dash
- flash
- gash
- gnash
- hash
- lash
- mash
- rash
- sash
- slash
- smash
- splash
- stash
- thrash
- trash
at
- at
- bat
- brat
- cat
- chat
- fat
- flat
- gnat
- hat
- mat
- pat
- rat
- sat
- slat
- spat
- tat
- that
- vat
ate
- abate
- ate
- crate
- date
- debate
- fate
- gate
- grate
- hate
- Kate
- late
- mate
- plate
- rate
- relate
- sate
- skate
- state
aw
- caw
- claw
- draw
- flaw
- gnaw
- jaw
- law
- paw
- raw
- saw
- slaw
- straw
- thaw
ay
- away
- bay
- bray
- clay
- day
- decay
- delay
- display
- flay
- gay
- gray
- hay
- jay
- lay
- may
- nay
- okay
- pay
- play
- pray
- quay
- ray
- relay
- replay
- say
- slay
- spray
- stay
- stray
- sway
- they
- today
- tray
- way
eat
- beat
- cheat
- cleat
- eat
- feat
- greet
- heat
- meat
- neat
- peat
- pleat
- seat
- treat
- wheat
eel
- eel
- feel
- heel
- keel
- kneel
- peel
- reel
- steel
- wheel
eep
- beep
- creep
- deep
- jeep
- keep
- peep
- seep
- sheep
- sleep
- steep
- sweep
- weep
eet
- beet
- feet
- fleet
- greet
- meet
- sheet
- sleet
- street
- sweet
- tweet
ell
- bell
- cell
- dell
- dwell
- farewell
- fell
- hell
- sell
- shell
- smell
- spell
- swell
- tell
- well
- yell
en
- amen
- Ben
- children
- den
- fen
- gentlemen
- glen
- Gwen
- hen
- men
- open
- pen
- then
- ten
- when
- wren
- yen
ent
- accent
- bent
- cent
- dent
- event
- gent
- lent
- rent
- scent
- sent
- spent
- tent
- vent
- went
est
- best
- chest
- crest
- jest
- nest
- pest
- quest
- rest
- test
- unrest
- vest
- west
- zest
ice
- dice
- ice
- mice
- nice
- price
- rice
- slice
- spice
- splice
- thrice
- twice
- vice
ick
- brick
- chick
- click
- flick
- kick
- lick
- nick
- pick
- quick
- Rick
- sick
- slick
- stick
- thick
- tick
- trick
- wick
ide
- bride
- decide
- glide
- hide
- pride
- ride
- side
- slide
- stride
- tide
- wide
ife
- fife
- knife
- life
- strife
- wife
ight
- bright
- delight
- fight
- flight
- fright
- height
- knight
- light
- might
- night
- plight
- right
- sight
- slight
- tight
- tonight
ile
- bile
- file
- mile
- Nile
- pile
- rile
- smile
- stile
- tile
- vile
- while
ill
- bill
- chill
- dill
- drill
- fill
- frill
- gill
- grill
- hill
- ill
- Jill
- kill
- krill
- mill
- pill
- quill
- shrill
- sill
- skill
- spill
- still
- swill
- thrill
- thrill
- till
- trill
- will
in
- bin
- chin
- din
- fin
- gin
- grin
- in
- kin
- pin
- shin
- skin
- sin
- spin
- thin
- tin
- twin
- win
- within
ine
- brine
- decline
- define
- dine
- fine
- line
- mine
- nine
- pine
- shine
- shrine
- sine
- spine
- swine
- tine
- twine
- vine
- whine
- wine
ing
- bring
- cling
- fling
- king
- ping
- ring
- sing
- sling
- spring
- sting
- string
- swing
- thing
- wing
- wring
- zing
ink
- blink
- brink
- drink
- fink
- ink
- link
- mink
- pink
- rink
- shrink
- sink
- stink
- think
- wink
ip
- blip
- chip
- dip
- drip
- flip
- grip
- hip
- lip
- nip
- quip
- rip
- ship
- sip
- skip
- slip
- snip
- strip
- tip
- trip
- whip
- zip
it
- admit
- bit
- fit
- flit
- grit
- hit
- it
- kit
- knit
- lit
- mit
- pit
- quit
- sit
- skit
- slit
- snit
- spit
- split
- twit
- wit
oat
- boat
- coat
- float
- gloat
- goat
- oat
- stoat
- throat
ock
- block
- clock
- cock
- crock
- dock
- flock
- frock
- hock
- jock
- knock
- lock
- mock
- o’clock
- rock
- shock
- smock
- sock
- stock
og
- blog
- bog
- catalog
- clog
- cog
- dog
- fog
- frog
- hog
- jog
- log
- slog
- smog
oil
- boil
- broil
- coil
- foil
- oil
- soil
- spoil
- toil
oke
- awoke
- bloke
- broke
- choke
- joke
- poke
- smoke
- spoke
- stoke
- stroke
- woke
- yoke
oo
- boo
- coo
- goo
- igloo
- moo
- shoo
- too
- woo
- zoo
ood
- good
- hood
- stood
- wood
ood
- brood
- food
- mood
oof
- goof
- proof
- roof
- spoof
oof
- hoof
- woof
ook
- book
- brook
- cook
- crook
- hook
- look
- nook
- rook
- shook
- took
oom
- bloom
- boom
- broom
- doom
- gloom
- groom
- loom
- room
- zoom
ool
- cool
- drool
- fool
- pool
- spool
- stool
- tool
oon
- balloon
- goon
- loon
- moon
- noon
- soon
- spoon
- swoon
oop
- coop
- droop
- hoop
- loop
- scoop
- snoop
- stoop
-
troop
-
oot (long oo)
- boot
- hoot
- scoot
-
shoot
-
oot (short oo)
- foot
- soot
op
- bop
- chop
- cop
- crop
- drop
- flop
- hop
- lop
- mop
- plop
- pop
- prop
- sop
- shop
- stop
- top
ore
- bore
- chore
- core
- fore
- gore
- lore
- more
- ore
- pore
- score
- shore
- sore
- spore
- store
- swore
- tore
- wore
- yore
orn
- adorn
- born
- corn
- forlorn
- horn
- morn
- scorn
- shorn
- thorn
- torn
- worn
ot
- apricot
- blot
- bot
- clot
- cot
- dot
- forgot
- got
- hot
- jot
- knot
- lot
- not
- plot
- pot
- rot
- shot
- slot
- spot
- tot
- trot
ought
- bought
- brought
- fought
- ought
- sought
- thought
- wrought
ould
- could
- should
- would
ouse
- douse
- grouse
- house
- louse
- mouse
- spouse
out
- about
- bout
- clout
- gout
- grout
- out
- lout
- pout
- scout
- shout
- snout
- spout
- stout
- tout
- trout
ow (rhymes with cow)
- bow
- cow
- chow
- how
- now
- plow
- sow
- vow
- wow
ow (rhymes with low)
- bow
- blow
- crow
- flow
- glow
- grow
- low
- mow
- row
- show
- slow
- snow
- sow
- stow
- throw
- tow
own
- brown
- crown
- down
- drown
- frown
- gown
- nightgown
- town
uck
- buck
- chuck
- cluck
- duck
- luck
- muck
- puck
- pluck
- stuck
- struck
- truck
- tuck
- yuck
ug
- bug
- dug
- hug
- jug
- lug
- mug
- plug
- pug
- rug
- shrug
- smug
- snug
- thug
- tug
ump
- bump
- clump
- dump
- grump
- hump
- jump
- lump
- plump
- pump
- rump
- slump
- stump
- thump
- trump
un
- bun
- fun
- gun
- nun
- pun
- run
- shun
- spun
- stun
- sun
unk
- bunk
- chunk
- drunk
- dunk
- flunk
- funk
- hunk
- junk
- lunk
- plunk
- punk
- skunk
- slunk
- spunk
- sunk
- trunk
Word families used in Nursery Rhymes
- Bees: ay, may, hay.
- The Boy in the Barn: ay, hay, away.
- Curly Locks: ine, mine, swine.
- Five Speckled Frogs: og, frog, log; ool, cool, pool.
- Georgie Porgie: ay, play, away.
- Hey Diddle Diddle: iddle, diddle, fiddle; oon, spoon, moon.
- Hickety, Pickety, My Black Hen: en, hen, gentlemen; ay, day, lay.
- Hickory Dickory Dock: ock, dock, clock; ive, five, hive; ine, nine, fine.
- Humpty Dumpty: all, wall, fall.
- Hush A Bye Baby: all, all, fall.
- I’m a Little Teapot: out, out, spout, stout.
- Jack and Jill: ill, Jill, hill; own, down, crown.
- Jack Be Nimble: ick, quick, stick.
- Knick Knack Paddy Whack: ee, three, knee; ive, five, hive; ine, nine, shine; en, ten, hen, eleven, heaven.
- Little Bo Peep: eep, peep, sheep.
- Little Boy Blue: orn, horn, corn; eep, sheep, asleep.
- Little Jack Horner: horner, corner.
- Little Mouse: ouse, mouse, house; eal, steal, meal; out, about; un, fun, run; eep, creep, peep.
- Little Sally Walker: est, west, best.
- Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: ary, Mary, contrary; ow, row, grow; ells, shells, bells.
- Mockingbird: ing, ring, sing; brass, glass.
- Monday’s Child: ace, grace, face; ing, giving, living; ay, day, gay.
- The Northwind Doth Blow: ow, blow, snow; ing, wing, thing.
- Old Mother Hubbard: ead, bread, dead; at, cat, hat; ig, wig, jig; oat, coat, goat.
- One, Two, Buckle my Shoe: en, ten, hen; twelve, delve.
- One, Two, Three, Four, Five: ive, alive, five.
- Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-eater: ell, shelll, well.
- Rain, Rain: ay, away, day.
- Rub-a-Dub-Dub: ub, dub, tub; ee, be, three.
- See-Saw Marjorie Daw: aw, Daw, saw, straw.
- Sing a Song of Sixpence: ing, king, sing; oney, money, honey.
- Star Light, Star Bright : ight, light, bright, night.
- Ten Little Monkeys: ed, bed, head.
- There was a Crooked Man: ile, mile, stile; ouse, mouse, house.
- There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly: at, cat, that; og, hog, dog; ow, cow, how.
- Three Blind Mice: ife, wife, knife.
- Three Little Kittens: en, kitten, mitten; ear, dear, fear.
- To Market: ig, pig, jig; og, hog, jog.
- Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son: eat, eat, beat.
- Tommy Tittlemouse: ouse, Tittlemouse, house.
- Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee: attle, battle, rattle.
- Vintery, mintery, cutery, corn,: orn, corn, thorn; ock, lock, flock; est, west, nest.
- Wee Willie Winkie: own, town, nightgown; ock, lock, o’clock.
- What Are Little Girls Made Of? What Are Little Boys Made Of?: ice, spice, nice; ails, snails, tails.
- Yankee Doodle: andy, dandy, handy; ing, Gooding, pudding.
References
Books Related to Word Families
Words that Rhyme with Ad, A Printable Book. Print out the Ad Word Book.
Words that Rhyme with Ail, A Printable Book. Print out the Ail Word Book.
Words that Rhyme with Ake, A Printable Book. Print out the Ake Word Book.
Words that Rhyme with All, A Printable Book. Print out the All Word Book.
AN Words Book, A Printable Book. Print out the AN Words Book early reader book.
Words that Rhyme with Ar, A Printable Book. Print out the Ar Word Book.
AT Words Book, A Printable Book. Print out the AT Words Book early reader book.
Words that Rhyme with At, A Printable Book. Print out the At Word Book.
EN Words Book, A Printable Book. Print out the EN Words Book early reader book.
Words that Rhyme with Ig, A Printable Book. Print out the Ig Word Book.
Mother Goose nursery rhymes Book. A book for your children to make. This is a wonderful book students can make, color, and then read their favorite nursery rhymes.
Words that Rhyme with Ool, A Printable Book. Print out the Ool Word Book.
The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly Printout: Rebus Rhyme Printout
Find and write the rhyming words in this ‘Rhyming Words’ printable early reader book.
Words that Rhyme with Ug, A Printable Book. Print out the Ug Word Book.
Word Wheels on Word Families
Word Wheel - AKE Words: This 2-page print-out makes a word wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, six words that rhyme with
Word Wheel - AN Words: This 2-page print-out makes a word wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, six words that rhyme with
Word Wheel - AR Words: This 2-page print-out makes a word wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, six words that rhyme with
Word Wheel - AT Words: This 2-page print-out makes a word wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, six words that rhyme with
Word Wheel - EN Words: This 2-page print-out makes a word wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, six words that rhyme with
Make Words Wheel : This 2-page print-out makes a words wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, words appear, combining c, f, g, h, l, p, t, and s with ab, ad, am, an, ap, ar, as, and at. Write as many words as you can that are made using the wheel.
Make Words Wheel -e- This 2-page print-out makes a words wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, words appear, combining b, g, h, l, m, p, s, and w with eb, ed, eg, em, en, er, et, and ew. Write as many words as you can that are made using the wheel.
Make Words Wheel -i- This 2-page print-out makes a words wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, words appear, combining b, d, f, h, l, r, s, and w with ib, id, ig, im, in, ip, it, and ix. Write as many words as you can that are made using the wheel.
Make Words Wheel -o- : This 2-page print-out makes a words wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, words appear, combining b, c, d, h, p, r, s, and t with ob, od, og, on, op, ot, ow, and ox. Write as many words as you can that are made using the wheel.
Make Words Wheel -u- This 2-page print-out makes a words wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, words appear, combining b, c, d, h, p, r, s, and t with ub, ud, ug, un, up, ur, us, and ut. Write as many words as you can that are made using the wheel.
Activities on Word Families
Find Words that Rhyme Worksheets Printout.