Word Stress Worksheets
41 worksheets · Sounds & spelling
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Word stress worksheets
41 printable worksheets with answer keys; the 24 most used, easiest level first.
About Word stress
In English words of more than one syllable, one syllable is stressed: it is longer, louder and higher in pitch, and its vowel is fully pronounced, while unstressed syllables often reduce to schwa. Stress can move within a word family (PHOtograph, phoTOgraphy, photoGRAPHic) and can distinguish word class, as in a REcord and to reCORD.
Word stress is taught from young learners and A1 up to B2. Wrong stress causes more misunderstanding than an imperfect individual sound, yet learners often stress every syllable equally or transfer the stress pattern of their first language. Useful tendencies include stress on the syllable before -tion and -ic (inforMAtion, draMAtic) and first-syllable stress in most two-syllable nouns.
This page offers printable word stress worksheets with answer keys, including pattern sorting, odd-one-out and dictionary tasks, which you can print as PDF or complete online through a class link.
Teaching tips: Word stress
- Mark stress consistently, for example with a large dot over the stressed syllable, and use the same system in vocabulary records.
- Watch for equal stress on every syllable, which makes words hard to recognize; exaggerate the stressed syllable and reduce the others.
- Use claps, stretching an elastic band or big and small steps to make stress patterns physical.
- Teach stress with every new multi-syllable word rather than only in separate pronunciation lessons.
Questions teachers ask
Are there reliable rules for English word stress?
There are useful tendencies, such as stress before -tion, -sion and -ic, and first-syllable stress in most two-syllable nouns, but there are exceptions, so checking a dictionary is essential.
How do dictionaries show word stress?
Most use a raised mark (ˈ) before the stressed syllable in the phonemic transcription, for example /ˈteɪbl/ for table.
Which noun–verb pairs change stress?
Examples include REcord/reCORD, PREsent/preSENT, OBject/obJECT and INcrease/inCREASE, where the noun is usually stressed on the first syllable and the verb on the second.