Unit 7: Short vowels, Part 1: a and e
Page 6 of 12
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Homophones with the long /ā/
sound. If you confuse these words the computer spellchecker will not spot your mistake - so it is especially important to learn them. |
| made - done, built maid - young woman, servant |
I made that birthday card myself. The maid brought the tea on a tray. |
|
male - man mail - post |
Male birds do not lay eggs. The mail is late again today. |
| sail - on a boat sale - act of selling |
He sailed around the
world single-handed. I put a 'For Sale' sign in my old car. |
| mane - horse's hair main - most important |
Kate brushed her horse's mane. We don't want to live near the main road. |
| plain - simple, not
fancy plane - airplane |
Our dad prefers plain
food to spicy. The plane was delayed by fog. |
| lane - small road lain - past tense of lay |
Flowers grew at the side of the lane. The body had lain there for weeks. |
| whale - the sea mammal wail - crying noise or siren Wales - part of Britain |
The blue whale is the
largest mammal. The baby gave a loud wail. Charles is the Prince of Wales. |
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| pane - piece of glass pain - hurt |
The window had a broken pane. I was in great pain after my fall. |
| waste - use more than
you need waist - middle of body |
Don't waste your money
on that ride. I have lost weight around my waist. |
| vale - valley veil - covering the face |
There are many villages in
the Vale of York. The bride wore a long white veil. |
| shake - move about sheik - Arab chief (also 'sheikh') |
The earthquake made the ground
shake. The sheik rode a beautiful horse. |
| wait - stay weight - heaviness |
Wait here until I get back. To win the cake you must guess its weight. |
| way - 1) road 2) manner weigh - measure weight |
1) Which way shall we go? 2) I don't like the way you said that. How much do you weigh? |
| wade - walk through water weighed - past tense of weigh |
We had to wade across the stream. Mum weighed out a kilo of flour. |
| slay - kill in battle sleigh - sledge |
Did St George slay a dragon? The sleigh was pulled by reindeer. |
| ate - past tense of eat eight - number 8 |
We ate far too much last night. I get to work at eight o'clock. |
| gate - door in fence gait - way of walking |
Please close the garden gate. That horse has a very odd gait. |
| pray - talk to God prey - hunted animal |
Muslims pray in a mosque. The eagle preys on small animals. |
| vain - 1) admiring oneself 2) useless vein - blood vessel vane - weather-vane |
1) Some pop stars are very vain. 2) He waited in vain for her to call. The veins in my leg are swollen. There is a weather-vane on top of the church. |
| rain - wet weather reign - rule as king or queen reins - to lead a horse |
The heavy rain caused some flooding. Queen Victoria reigned for 64 years. Hold the reins lightly. |
| grate - 1) shred 2) fireplace great- 1) large 2) very good |
1) Grate some cheese to go in the sauce. 2) Clean out the ashes from the grate. 1) I paid a great deal of money for that. 2) Will he make a great President? |
| brake - slow down break - 1) smash 2) gap, rest |
I stood on the brakes to miss the
cat. 1) Be careful not to break that glass. 2) We had a break half-way through the lesson. |
| stake - post steak - meat |
The fence was made of wooden stakes. They serve the best steak in town. |
Go to the next part of this unit:
Spelling the long vowel sound /ē/.
The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.
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