Evidence-based curriculum for ages 2-8

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Free printable word family lists from ABCmouse.com.

What Are Word Families? (Free Printable List and Examples)

Discover the power of word families and get free printable lists to help your child practice them!

Word families are groups of words that share a common feature or pattern, usually because they have the same combination of letters and sounds. For example, words like cat, hat, bat, and mat all belong to the “-at” word family because they share the “-at” ending and have similar sounds. 

Working with word families can help children recognize patterns in words and contribute to stronger reading and spelling skills. For instance, introducing words like back, snack, and track from the “-ack” word family helps children see the recurring pattern of the “-ack” letters and sounds. With practice, they will learn to automatically associate the correct letter sounds with the each word family, which can improve word recognition and decoding skills. 

A poster of the -at word family words, hat, cat, mat, rat, and bat on a blue background.

Tips for Teaching Word Families

You can introduce word families to your child through fun activities like singing nursery rhymes or reading stories that contain common word families. Repeating the rhymes or stories can help children memorize the sounds and spelling patterns of common word families.

Lists of Common Word Families

-ack Word Family:

backblackcrackhack
lackpackquackrack
sackshacksnackstack
trackwhack

-at Word Family:

batcatflathat
matpatratsat
slatsplatthatchat

-an Word Family:

banbrancanclan
fanmanpanplan
ranscanspantan
van

-ing Word Family:

bringclingdingfling
kingpingringsing
slingspringstingstring
swingthingwing

-op Word Family:

bopchopcropdrop
flophopmoppop
propshopslopstop
top

-ip Word Family:

blipclipdipdrip
flipgriphiplip
nipripshipsip
skipsliptrip

-ug Word Family:

bugchugdughug
juglugmugplug
pugrugshrugslug
snugthugtug

-ake Word Family:

bakecakefakeflake
lakemakequakerake
sakeshakesnakestake
takewake

-ill Word Family:

billchilldrillfill
frillgrillhillmill
skillspillstillthrill

-ell Word Family:

bellcelldwellfell
sellshellsmellspell
swelltellwellyell

-ock Word Family:

blockclockdockflock
hocklockmockrock
shocksmocksockstock

Word Family Practice and Learning Activities 

Turn word family practice into a game with creative activities for your child. Here are a few of our favorites:

ABCmouse Word Family Games: 

Word Family Match Up

In this game, players are challenged to match cards showing words in the same word families. 

Screenshot of a fun word family match game from ABCmouse.com.

Word Family Tile Match

The objective of this game is to correctly match each CVC word tile with the picture that corresponds to the word family. 

Screenshot of a fun word family tile match game from ABCmouse.com.

Hidden Word Family Hunt

In Hidden Word Family Hunt, children are presented with a series of pictures, and they must match each picture to its corresponding word. This game focuses on three-letter word families. 

Screenshot of a fun hidden word family hunt game from ABCmouse.com.

Crazy Race: The -am Word Family

Screenshot of a fun word family game called crazy race from ABCmouse.com.

Discover Our Online Learning Tools

Hands-On Word Family Activities

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Colorful construction paper trains on a blue background.
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