Vowel Team Syllable Word Lists (Free Printable)

Ignite reading excitement with our FREE printable vowel team worksheets! These vowel team word list pages are a fabulous resource for teachers and parents who are working on vowel team syllable in phonics. There are over 220 vowel team words, each conveniently arranged by type. Use these  vowel team word list with kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd grade students!

Vowel Teams Lists

Are you tired of scouring the internet for vowel team syllable word lists? In this article, we have compiled over 220 words with vowel team syllables into organized charts for your convenience. But wait, what exactly are vowel team syllables, and why should you teach them? Well, buckle up because we’re about to take you on a journey through the wonderful world of phonics, where vowels join forces to create powerful sounds that can unlock a whole new level of reading and spelling success for your homeschooled children.

What is a Syllable?

A syllable is an individual, uninterrupted sound within spoken or written words. It typically consists of a vowel sound and may include one or more consonants. Syllables play a crucial role in providing the rhythm and structural organization of words in spoken language. Basically, they contribute to the flow and pronunciation of words in communication.  

Difference between syllable and phoneme

It’s essential to distinguish between syllables and phonemes, as they are often confused. The number of syllables in a word is not necessarily the same as the number of phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest sound in a language. Syllables contain one or more phonemes. So, a word may only have one syllable but multiple phonemes.

For example, the words mad and march have one syllable and 3 phonemes. Mad – m-a- d March -m-ar-ch

Why Do We Teach Syllables?

We teach syllables for several important reasons:

• Word Decoding: Many words in the English language are multisyllabic. Teaching syllables helps individuals, especially young readers, break down these complex words into smaller, more manageable units. This aids in word recognition and pronunciation, making decoding and understanding unfamiliar words easier.
• Reading Fluency: Recognizing syllables contributes to improved reading fluency. Readers can read more smoothly When they can identify and process syllables within words. There will also be better comprehension, as they are not stumbling over lengthy or unfamiliar terms.
• Spelling: Understanding syllables can enhance spelling accuracy. It is easier to learn to spell by breaking words into syllables. You can remember the correct sequence of letters within each syllable, reducing spelling errors.
• Language Development: Teaching syllables is a fundamental aspect of phonological awareness, a critical skill in language development. Phonological awareness includes recognizing and manipulating words’ sounds and structures, which is essential for learning to read and write.
• Language Structure: Learning about syllables provides insight into the structure of words and language. It helps students understand how words are composed of smaller sound units, fostering a deeper appreciation of linguistic patterns and word formation.

In summary, teaching syllables is essential for literacy development, improving reading and spelling skills, and fostering a deeper understanding of language structure and phonological awareness.

See our post about syllable types for more information about syllables.

Vowel team syllable

Vowel team syllables are simply two vowels placed next to each other, working together to make a distinct sound. For example, “oa” in “boat,” “ai” in “pain,” and “ea” in “meat.”

• Blending to Create New Sounds: Some vowel teams blend the two vowels to create a unique sound that differs from the individual vowel sounds. For instance, “oi” in “coin” and “ow” in “cow.”
• Consonants Joining Vowel Teams: In certain cases, consonants become part of vowel teams, where a consonant letter pairs with a vowel to form a single vowel sound. Examples include “ay” and “ey” where “y” pairs with vowels, as well as “ew,” “aw,” and “ow,” where the letter “w” combines with vowels to create specific sounds.
• Complex Vowel Teams: Some vowel teams encompass more complex combinations, such as “ough,” “augh,” and the presence of silent “al” in words like “talk.”

Children can explore and experiment with different vowel teams. Discovering how these combinations create various sounds and contribute to language’s richness and diversity. By understanding vowel team syllables, young learners can develop their reading and phonetic skills while nurturing their creativity in language exploration.

When Do We Teach Vowel Team Syllables?

It’s a good idea to start teaching vowel team syllables in the first grade after students have learned about closed syllable words and open syllable words and understand how the magic e words works. This foundational knowledge provides a suitable starting point for introducing the complexities of vowel team syllables. However, it’s important to note that a second-grade review is often necessary to ensure students understand vowel teams well.

Vowel team words

In this segment, we’ll showcase some vowel team syllable word lists sorted by teams. We kept the words as simple as possible for younger readers. These simple vowel team words are easier to decode and provide an excellent starting point for young learners. We’ve organized them by specific vowel teams.

Note: There were a coupe of vowel teams that we omitted, such as ae, because the words were more complicated. Words such as Aeration, Aerosol, Aeronautic can be left for later.

ai Vowel Team Words

ai vowel team words include: rain, aim, sail, train, maid, paid, fail, nail, sprain, wait, waist, daily, snail, afraid, trail, gain, faint, grain, raisin

ee Vowel Team Words

long e vowel teams words include: bee, see, tree, feel, wheel, keep, green, feel, week, meet, deep, teeth, street, sleep, screen.

ea Vowel Team Words

ea vowel team words include: tea, eat, sea, dream, near, each, beach, lead, head, steam, reason, easy, treat, great, break, peace.

ie Vowel Team Words

ie vowel team words include: chief, shriek, thief, field, tried, brief, shield, grief, die, tie, pie, lie, piece, niece, fierce, dried, cried.

oa Vowel Team Words

words with oa vowel team include: pat, boat, oak, coal, coat, road, float, toast, throat, groan, soap, foam, goat, toad, soak, coast.

oe Vowel Team Words

oe vowel team words include: toe, foe, doe, hoe, woe, poet, does, woeful, toed,

oi Vowel Team Words

ou vowel words include: join, oil, coin, oink, moist, broil, joint, spoil, soil, foil, hoist, boil, toil, choice, voice, appoint.

oo Vowel Team Words

oo vowel team words include: book, look, cook, brook, took, hook, shook, nook, good, wood, hood, foot, roof, stool, school, moon.

ou Vowel Team Words

ou vowel words include loud, touch, grouch, ground, pouch, count, found, mouse, cloud, rough, young, mouth, shout, couch, house, pound, out.

Vowel Team Syllable Word Lists With Consonants

Here are some vowel team syllable word lists that combine a vowel with a consonant.

• oy Vowel Team Words – boy, toy, joy, annoy, coy, enjoy, royal, loyal, destroy, employ, soy, buoy, ploy, alloy, cowboy, oyster.

• ow Vowel Team Words – snow, throw, show, town, grow, brown, glow, crowd, blow, howl, slow, growl, down, blow, arrow, elbow.

• aw Vowel Team Words – draw, raw, paw, saw, law, jaw, claw, straw, yawn, hawk, flaw, thaw, dawn, jawbone, pawprint, drawl.

• ay Vowel Team Words  bay, say, play, day, stay, may, way, clay, gray, tray, pay, lay, sway, spray, relay, delay.

• ey Vowel Team Words- key, they, grey, obey, valley, hey, money, honey, survey, journey, convey, alley, beyond, prey, eye, gooey.

We’ve prepared a free downloadable collection of these word lists for printing. You can use them as handy references or modify them to suit a range of educational activities. Below, we’ve included a list of suggestions to inspire you.

Vowel team worksheets

Here are some suggestions for using the free printable word lists to make learning fun:

• Writing Sentences: Ask children to use some of the words from a chart in separate sentences. This helps reinforce vocabulary and increase comprehension.
• Make a Word Wall: Create a word wall using the words from the lists. This interactive display can assist children in improving their reading and spelling skills.
• Phonic Notebook: Encourage your children to choose words from the lists to record in their notebooks. They can write a definition and illustrate the words as well.
• Storytelling: Challenge kids to use the words from one chart in a story. How many can you use?
• Create a Word Search: Select various words from the charts and create a fun word search puzzle. You can use an online Word Search Puzzle Maker to generate puzzles.
• Vowel Team Bingo: Use the editable 4×4 table in the printable to play a bingo game. Players can take turns reading words aloud and covering them with bingo chips to form rows.

These creative activities make learning enjoyable and enhance language skills and phonemic awareness.

Vowel Team Activities

In conclusion, teaching young readers about vowel teams is essential to their literacy development. We hope our free printable word lists offer a valuable resource for teachers working on vowel teams with their students or children. Through consistent exposure and practice, children will become more confident in their reading abilities and be able to tackle more complex texts. Download the word lists today and share this post with others. Together, we can empower our young readers and set them up for success in their educational journey.

This post is one of a series of posts on the 6 different syllable types. See our posts on

• Open Syllable Word list
• Closed Syllables Words – with a free printable word list
• Silent E Word list – free printable for learning about the magic e
• Vowel Team Words with free printable list
• R-Controlled word list with free printable
• Consonant LE Syllables with free printable word list