Free 100 short O words list and pictures

Short O words

Here are some free resources that you can use to teach and help learners practice the short O vowel sound. There are word lists, picture flashcards, and some practice sentences.

The short O sound is, as you would expect, a short sound. We can compare it to the long O vowel sound (which of course is more drawn out) to identify it easily. Try reading these words aloud to notice the difference –

Short O – bot, got, con, cross, wrong.

Long O – boat, goat, cone, gross, wrote.

It should be noted that there is also a second short O sound, often known as short-o-2, the alternate short O, or the reduced O. Here however we are focusing on the most common sound of /ɒ/. There are also differences when it comes to pronouncing many words between North American and British English and even amongst regions within native English-speaking countries.

Short O words list

Below is a list of words with a short O sound. It is the same as the free printable PDF above and has been included in case you only want to copy and paste some of the words.

The list has been kept to short, mostly 1 syllable words to help beginners and young learners with a lot of CVC words included.

block

blog

blot

bob

bog

bop

boss

bot

box

chop

clock

clog

clot

cob

cod

cog

cop

copy

cot

crop

cross

dock

dodge

dog

doll

dot

drop

flock

flog

floss

fog

fond

fox

frock

frog

frost

god

golf

gong

got

hog

honk

hop

hot

job

jog

jot

knob

lob

lock

loft

log

long

lop

loss

lost

lot

mob

mock

mop

moss

moth

nod

not

odd

otter

oxen

plop

plot

pod

pond

pop

pot

rob

rock

rod

rot

shock

shop

slob

slog

slop

slosh

smog

snot

sob

sock

sod

soft

song

spot

stock

stomp

top

toss

tot

wok

wrong

Short O words with pictures

Next, we have some beautiful picture and word cards you can, print, cut out, and use to play educational games with English learners.

The visuals help students remember both spelling and pronunciation, especially when they are used in fun activities. Some ideas for using these flashcards include –

Playing memory. Print out two sets of the words you want to use. Shuffle them and lay them upside down on a table. Learners are to take turns trying to find a matching pair.