E (head, said) Sound with “ea” and “ai” Spellings Multisyllable Word List

This list has all multisyllable words in the database that contain any alternative spellings of the /e/ sound. They are arranged both by spelling and by the chunk that the spelling occurs. It can be a valuable resource for locating words to illustrate a certain pattern or to find words to practice reading that pattern.

Of the 7,000 words in the database constructed from a popular children’s dictionary, 52 of them are multisyllable words containing an alternative spelling of the vowel sound /e/. The two alternative spellings of the /e/ sound are "ea" and "ai".

Note on the word divisions: Each word is divided into chunks determined by the unique and effective OnTrack Reading Multisyllable Method. The chunks are not syllables.

Also, the OnTrack Reading curriculum emphasizes forming a “perfect pronunciation” of a word for spelling purposes where it is possible. In the case of the words using the "ai" spelling of the /e/ sound (again, mountain), it is useful to think of the "ai" spelling as representing the /ae/ sound that it usually does (as in train).