CVC Word List (CVC Word Families + Free PDFs)

When children are beginning to read, CVC words (Consonant–Vowel–Consonant) are usually the first words they learn. CVC words, such as cat, dog, or pen, are simple three-letter words with a short vowel sound that can be sounded out to make a whole word. On this page, you’ll find CVC word lists for each short vowel sound, along with free printable PDFs that you can display in class or hand out to students.

What Are CVC Words?

CVC words are simple three-letter words that follow the pattern Consonant–Vowel–Consonant, such as cat, dog, or pen. They are usually the first words children read after learning individual letter sounds. By putting the three sounds together to form a whole word, early readers build confidence and take an important first step in phonics.

CVC Word Lists

Here are CVC word lists for each of the five short vowel sounds. The words are grouped into common word families (like -at, -an, -ap) to make them easier to teach and practice. Each list also comes with a free printable PDF you can download for classroom use.

CVC Words with Short A

Word Family	CVC Word
_an	can, man, pan, ban, fan, ran, tan, van
_ad	dad, bad, sad, had, lad, mad, pad, tad, fad
_ap	cap, map, tap, gap, nap, sap, rap, yap, zap, lap
_ab	cab, jab, dab, gab, nab, lab, tab
_at	cat, bat, hat, fat, pat, mat, vat, rat, sat
_am	dam, ram, ham, bam, jam, yam
_ag	tag, bag, lag, mag, nag, rag, gag, sag, hag, wag
_ax	tax, wax, max
_al	pal, gal
_as	gas

CVC Words with Short E

Word Family	CVC Word
_et	jet, bet, met, let, net, pet, set, vet, wet, get
_en	den, hen, men, pen, ten
_eg	leg, peg, beg, keg
_em	gem, hem
_es	yes
_eb	web

CVC Words with Short I

Word Family	CVC Word
_it	sit, kit, hit, fit, bit, wit
_ig	big, pig, dig, fig, gig, rig, wig, zig
_id	hid, did, bid, lid, rid, kid
_im	him, dim, rim
_ip	hip, lip, dip, nip, rip, sip, zip, tip
_in	fin, bin, sin, tin, win, din
_ix	fix, six, mix

CVC Words with Short O

Word Family	CVC Word
_op	hop, cop, pop, top, mop, bop
_ot	pot, not, hot, lot, jot, cot, dot, got, tot, rot
_og	dog, jog, log, cog, fog, hog, bog
_ob	job, mob, sob, rob, cob, gob
_ox	fox, box, pox
_od	rod, sod
_om	mom

CVC Words with Short U

Word Family	CVC Word
_um	sum, gum, hum, bum, mum, tum
_ut	cut, hut, but, nut, rut, gut, jut
_un	fun, run, nun, bun, sun, pun, gun
_ud	bud, mud, cud, dud
_up	cup, pup
_us	bus

What to Teach Next After CVC Words

Once children are confident reading and spelling CVC words, the next step is usually CVCC words (lamp, hand) and then CVCE words (cake, bike). These patterns build on the short vowel sounds learned in CVC words and prepare students for more complex phonics skills. For ready-to-use lists and teaching ideas, see our CVCC Word List and CVCE Word List.

CVC Teaching Resources

To give students plenty of practice with CVC words, here are some free resources you can use in your lessons:

• CVC Word Worksheets – Printable worksheets for reading, spelling, and writing practice with different CVC word families.
• CVC Word Family PowerPoints – Ready-made PPTs to introduce CVC word families and practice together as a class.
• Phonics Games for Kids – Fun classroom games you can play in your phonics lessons.