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OE (toe) Sound Word List

By Rodney Everson

The /oe/ sound, often called the long-o sound, is one of five sounds that are named by the name of a single vowel letter. The letters are a, e, i, o, and u. This class of vowel sounds has many spelling options. In the case of the /oe/ sound, there are seven common spellings.

Of the 7,000 words in the database constructed from a popular children’s dictionary, 197 of them are one-syllable words in which the vowel sound is /oe/. The various spellings of the /oe/ sound are "o", "oa", "oe", "o-e", "ow", "ou", and "ough".

The most common spelling is "o-e" in one-syllable words. The "oa" and "ou" spellings are found only in the middle of one-syllable words. The "oe" and the "ow" spellings are usually endings, but not in all cases (poem, bowl). This is a great list for locating simple words that have a common spelling of the /oe/ sound, such as the "oa" in cloak, foam, and soap, because the list is organized by the vowel spellings.

Otr wordlists cover digital

Comprehensive Word Lists

Features over 100 word lists built from 7,000 words input from a children's dictionary. Lists are organized by vowel and consonant sounds and cover most common spellings. Useful in the classroom for building curriculum aids such as short stories that emphasize specific sounds and spellings. Multisyllable words are also included, chunked according to the method taught in the OnTrack Reading Advanced Code Phonics Workbook.