E (head, said) Sound with “ea” and “ai” Spellings Multisyllable Word List
OnTrack Reading Phonics Program
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The /e/ sound has three spellings, e (net), ea (head), and ai (again). This list is of multisyllable words with the ea and ai spellings. The list is organized by the chunk that the spellings occur. 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/.
Note on the word divisions: Each word is divided into chunks determined by the unique and highly effective OnTrack Reading Multisyllable Method. The chunks are not syllables.
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).
