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.
"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."
Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's HillConnect with us at: 
