Extensive Three-Letter Word List From A To Z

Three-letter words are a fundamental building block of the English language. For English learners, these short words are often the first they learn after mastering the alphabet and phonics. They help introduce students to simple word structures and phonics patterns and enable them to read simple texts and stories.

In this post, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of three-letter words from A to Z together with a printable PDF handout. So, whether you’re learning or teaching three-letter words, we’ve got you covered.

Three-Letter Words A to Z

3 Letter Words Starting With A

3 Letter Words Starting With B

3 Letter Words Starting With C

3 Letter Words Starting With D

3 Letter Words Starting With E

3 Letter Words Starting With F

3 Letter Words Starting With G

3 Letter Words Starting With H

3 Letter Words Starting With I

3 Letter Words Starting With J

3 Letter Words Starting With K

3 Letter Words Starting With L

3 Letter Words Starting With M

3 Letter Words Starting With N

3 Letter Words Starting With O

3 Letter Words Starting With P

3 Letter Words Starting With Q

3 Letter Words Starting With R

3 Letter Words Starting With S

3 Letter Words Starting With T

3 Letter Words Starting With U

3 Letter Words Starting With V

3 Letter Words Starting With W

3 Letter Words Starting With X

There aren’t any three letter words starting with the letter X in English.

3 Letter Words Starting With Y

3 Letter Words Starting With Z

Download Three-Letter Word List PDF

Click the button below to download the complete list of three-letter words in a convenient PDF format.

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How To Teach 3-Letter Words

Teaching three-letter words is an important step in helping students build a strong foundation in reading and spelling. These words are often simple, easy to decode, and a great way to introduce basic phonics. Here’s a step-by-step approach to teaching 3-letter words:

Start with CVC Words

Begin by teaching CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, as they are the simplest three-letter words for students to learn. Examples include words like cat, dog, and pen. These words help students understand how to blend individual letter sounds into complete words, which is a fundamental skill in reading.

Teach Word Families

Grouping words into word families is a great way to reinforce phonics patterns and make learning easier. For example, introduce the -at family: cat, hat, bat, rat, mat. Teaching words with similar endings helps students quickly recognize patterns and boosts their confidence in decoding new words. Check out these CVC PowerPoints for teaching all 27 CVC word families.

Use Phonics Activities

Incorporate activities that focus on phonics skills, such as:

Sounding out each letter in a word (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/ for “cat”).
Practicing blending sounds to form the complete word.
Matching pictures to words to help with comprehension.

Practice with Reading and Writing

Once students are comfortable recognizing three-letter words, encourage them to practice reading simple sentences or books that use CVC words. For example, sentences like “The cat is on the mat.” are easy to decode and build confidence. Have them practice writing these words to strengthen their spelling skills. Our free CVC Worksheets include short stories and are perfect for kids who just starting to read three-letter words.

Incorporate Games and Activities

Make learning fun by incorporating games like bingo, flashcards, or sorting activities. For instance, you can have students sort words by their word families or play a memory game where they match words with corresponding pictures.

By starting with CVC words, introducing word families, and using engaging activities, students will develop a strong understanding of 3-letter words.

Games To Teach 3-Letter Words

Guessing Game

This activity is perfect for reviewing three-letter words or as an engaging warm-up to activate students’ existing knowledge. To play, simply show the video. The game includes 20 rounds, and in each round, students will see a picture of a three-letter word. Their challenge is to guess the word before the image is fully revealed.

The Phonics Train

This game is perfect for teaching three-letter CVC words to young learners. To play, simply show the video. In the video, the Phonics Train will pass by with five 3-letter CVC words on it. Then, it will pass by again, but this time with some words missing. Students must guess which word is missing. Based on the classic classroom activity ‘What’s Missing?’, this game is a fun and engaging way to reinforce CVC word recognition.

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