Decodable word lists by sound & spelling pattern
Phonics word lists by sound & spelling pattern
Pick a phonics pattern to see a curated, decodable word list you can filter by syllable count and reading grade — each with example sentences and a printable worksheet. Lists are built from the public-domain CMU Pronouncing Dictionary and frequency-filtered for grades K-3.
Short AThe short-A sound as in cat, mad, hat — the vowel sound in 'apple'.120 decodable words · printable worksheet
Long AThe long-A sound /eɪ/ as in cake, rain, play, eight.120 decodable words · printable worksheet
SHThe SH digraph as in ship, fish, wash — one consonant sound spelled with two letters.100 decodable words · printable worksheet
CHThe CH digraph as in chip, lunch, beach — one consonant sound spelled with two letters.100 decodable words · printable worksheet
THThe TH digraph as in thin, math, this — voiced (this) and voiceless (thin) share the same spelling.90 decodable words · printable worksheet
How these lists work
Curated, not auto-generated
Each word is matched to its sound using phoneme transcriptions from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, then frequency-filtered so the list stays to words children actually encounter, and tagged with a reading grade from the Dolch and Fry word lists. Every pattern page links its sources and explains the decodability rule.