CVC stands for consonant-vowel-consonant — 3-letter words like “cat,” “sit,” and “tap.” They’re the first words kids decode and the foundation of synthetic phonics. This page lists 200+ CVC words sorted by vowel so you can drill one vowel at a time.
Short A — 50 CVC words
cab, can, cap, cat, dad, dam, fan, fat, gas, gap, ham, has, hat, jab, jam, lap, mad, man, map, mat, nap, pad, pal, pan, pat, rag, ram, ran, rap, rat, sad, sag, sap, sat, tab, tag, tan, tap, van, wag, was, yam, zap.
Tip:start short A first. It’s the most common vowel in CVC words and the easiest to model (open mouth, “ahh”).
Short E — 30 CVC words
bed, beg, bet, fed, get, hen, jet, leg, let, men, met, net, pen, pet, red, set, ten, vet, wed, wet, yes, yet.
Tip: teach short E after short A. Many kids confuse them — drill side by side: bed/bad, pen/pan, ten/tan.
Short I — 50 CVC words
bib, bid, big, bin, bit, dig, dim, dip, fib, fig, fin, fit, fix, hid, him, hip, his, hit, jig, kid, kin, lid, lip, lit, mid, mix, nib, nip, nit, pig, pin, pit, rib, rid, rig, rim, rip, sit, six, tin, tip, wig, win, wit, zip.
Short O — 35 CVC words
bob, bog, bog, box, cob, cod, cog, cop, cot, dog, dot, fog, fox, got, hog, hop, hot, jog, jot, log, lot, mob, mom, mop, not, pop, pot, rob, rod, rot, sob, sod, son, top.
Short U — 40 CVC words
bud, bug, bum, bun, bus, but, cub, cub, cup, cut, dug, fun, gum, gun, gut, hub, hug, hum, hut, jug, jut, mud, mug, mum, nun, nut, pug, pun, pup, put, rub, rug, run, rut, sub, sun, tub, tug, tug, un.
How to drill the list
- One vowel at a time.Don’t mix vowels until each is solid. Start with A, master it, then E, then I.
- Group by ending pattern.Read “cat, hat, mat, rat” in a row. Rime families build pattern recognition.
- Hide-the-vowel.Cover the vowel with your finger. “c_t” could be cat, cot, cut. Have your kid swap vowels and read each.
- Build, then read. Use letter cards or magnetic letters. Build the word, blend the sounds, read it aloud.
- 2-minute time trial.Once a vowel is solid, how many CVC words can your kid read in 2 minutes? Track the number; aim to beat last week’s record.
What comes after CVC
- CCVC: 4-letter words with a consonant cluster at the start. flag, stop, plan, drum, frog.
- CVCC: consonant cluster at the end. fast, hand, lamp, jump, pink.
- CVCe (magic-e): silent E makes the vowel long. cake, bike, bone, cute.
- Digraphs: 2 letters, 1 sound. chip, shop, that, ring.
Free printable CVC list
Grab the full CVC PDF (200+ words, sorted by vowel). Print it, cut by vowel, and turn each strip into a reading domino. Don’t lose your kid in the long-vowel jungle until short vowels are bulletproof.