listbeeLong vowels
Silent e words
A silent e at the end of a word usually makes the vowel before it say its name: cap becomes cape, kit becomes kite. Many teachers call it “magic e” or “bossy e.”
- Sound
- Long a, i, o and u
- Usually taught
- 1st–2nd grade
- Words on this page
- 54 in 5 lists
Silent e words: word lists
Practice a list online (each word is read aloud), or open it in the worksheet maker to print a test, word search, or look-cover-write-check sheet.
a_e words
12 words- cake
- game
- name
- gate
- lake
- made
- make
- same
- tape
- wave
- plane
- shape
i_e words
12 words- bike
- hide
- wide
- line
- mine
- ride
- time
- five
- smile
- white
- prize
- slide
o_e words
12 words- home
- rose
- nose
- rope
- note
- bone
- joke
- rode
- stone
- smoke
- those
- globe
Add an e: short to long
10 words- cap
- cape
- kit
- kite
- hop
- hope
- cub
- cube
- pin
- pine
How the pattern works
In a vowel–consonant–e word, the e is silent and the first vowel says its name: c-a-k-e. Spelling teachers often write the pattern as a_e, i_e, o_e and u_e.
Long u has two sounds in these words: “you” as in cute and “oo” as in rule. Both use the u_e spelling.
There are only a few e_e words in early lists (these, theme), so they usually come later.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the e: “cak,” “bik.” Reading the misspelling aloud (“cak” sounds like the start of cackle) shows why the e matters.
- Putting the e right after the vowel: “caek.”
- Overusing silent e on short-vowel words: “hate” for hat.
Practice ideas
- Write a short word on a card and fold an e onto the end: hop → hope, kit → kite.
- Practice the “Add an e” list as pairs; reading both words aloud makes the change obvious.
Practicing a list from school?
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