Tricky words don’t have to stay tricky. A NO-PREP, stress free resource, our Tricky Words Worksheets are designed to help learners decode and remember high-frequency words that don’t completely follow regular phonics patterns. Using a structured phoneme-grapheme mapping approach, these worksheets guide students to connect every sound (phoneme) in the word to its letter or letter pattern (grapheme), even the irregular parts that need to be “learned by heart.” This makes these tricky words stick far quicker than memorisation.

This method builds deep word knowledge—not just rote memorization—giving students the tools to tackle tricky words with confidence in both reading and spelling.

Perfect for part of your regular phonics instruction, small group work to boost struggling students, literacy intervention lessons, or home practice, these worksheets turn high-frequency words into permanent word memory through visual mapping and active engagement.

Includes 72 tricky words. Just print and use. Easy as that!

How to use this resource:

• Point and read the word 3 times
• Tap and say the sounds in the word. Move a counter or draw a dot in the box for each sound you hear.
• How many sounds in the word (student writes the number)
• Spell the sounds you hear (students chooses the letter that spells each sound). Put a heart above the tricky part.
• Write the word 3 times. Underline the tricky spelling part and put a heart above that part.
• Write a sentence with the word

Help your learners crack the code of tricky words—one sound, one letter at a time.

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