Endings -ly and -y Worksheets

Free printable endings -ly and -y phonics worksheets. Four practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, and rapid naming chart.

Grade: 2nd-3rd Phase 5: Multisyllable & Word Study Pattern: Adverb -ly and adjective -y endings
slowly quickly softly gladly badly sadly quietly kindly swiftly boldly happy funny

1 Decodable Reading Passage

A short, decodable story embedding endings -ly and -y words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.

Pam and Gus at the Beach
Skill: Endings -ly and -y  •  Sight Words: the, a, and, to, was, is, it, she, he, they, said, have, with, you, are, of, for, her, there, one, into, what, when, out, about
Pam and Gus at the Beach coloring page illustration
Coloring page included in PDF
It was a bright, sunny morning. Pam looked out her window and saw that the sky was clear. "Gus, wake up!" she called. Gus, her playful pup, wagged his tail quickly. He was happy to start the day. Pam wanted to take him to the sandy beach down the road. It was a bit windy, but she did not fret about the wind. She packed a small bag with her big cloth and a ball. They started their walk. The path to the beach was still muddy from a rainy night. Pam walked slowly to avoid the deep puddles, but Gus did not fret about the mud. He ran swiftly through the wet grass and jumped in a big puddle. Now his paws were quite muddy. "You are a very messy dog today," Pam said with a laugh. Soon, the sunny sky turned a bit foggy. A cold wind came across the water. The beach was empty and very windy now. Pam sat down on a log while Gus chased his ball. Sadly, the wind sent the ball right into some wet sea plants. When Gus brought it back, the ball was covered in sticky black muck. He looked sadly at Pam, hoping she could fix his favorite toy. Pam took the toy kindly from his mouth. "Do not fret, Gus," she said softly. She walked quickly down to the water to wash it. She dipped the sticky ball into the cold waves until it was spotless. She sent the clean ball across the beach. Gus ran swiftly to catch it, happy as he slid on the wet sand. He caught it boldly right before it went into the deep water. Just then, a funny little crab walked out from a shell. It moved slowly to the side across the sand. Gus stopped and stared at the strange little thing. He sniffed it quietly. The crab stood boldly on its legs and waved its small paws. Gus gave a soft, funny growl and jumped back. Pam laughed at her brave dog. "He is friendly, Gus," she whispered. As the day ended, the foggy air began to clear. The windy beach felt warmer. Pam used her big cloth to wipe Gus dry. She gladly cleaned his muddy paws and his wet coat. Gus let out a deep, sleepy sigh and rested his head on her lap. They had started the day badly with mud and muck, but now they were warm and safe. It had been a wonderful, happy day at the beach.
Circle or highlight all the words that end in -ly or -y in the story above. How many did you find?
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Pam and Gus at the Beach decodable reader mini-book
Free decodable reader Read “Pam and Gus at the Beach” as an illustrated mini-book → The full printable story + coloring page, using only endings -ly and -y sounds your child has learned.

2 Word Sort

Cut out the word cards and sort them into the correct columns: Ends in -ly vs Ends in -y.

Ends in -ly
Ends in -y
slowly
quickly
softly
gladly
badly
sadly
quietly
kindly
swiftly
boldly
happy
funny
sunny
rainy
windy
sandy
foggy
muddy
sleepy
sticky
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3 Phrasing Practice Cards

Practice reading these phrases for fluency. Cut out the cards and read them quickly and smoothly.

a slowly
the quickly
a softly
the gladly
a badly
the sadly
a quietly
the kindly
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4 RAN Chart (Rapid Naming)

Read each word in the grid as quickly as you can. Time yourself and try to beat your best time!

Decodable RAN Chart — Endings -ly and -y
slowly
quickly
slowly
badly
slowly
gladly
gladly
slowly
gladly
badly
softly
softly
badly
softly
quickly
quickly
Target words: slowly, quickly, softly, gladly, badly
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5 Word Search

Find and circle the endings -ly and -y words hidden in the grid. Words go across, down, and diagonally — a fun way to reinforce endings -ly and -y word recognition.

Endings -ly and -y Word Search
J
W
Y
U
B
O
L
D
L
Y
F
I
S
A
D
L
Y
S
C
J
U
E
S
S
D
G
Q
W
Z
S
N
X
N
L
K
G
U
I
Q
B
N
S
C
O
I
L
I
F
U
A
Y
O
H
W
N
A
E
T
I
D
L
F
A
L
D
Q
T
L
C
L
O
T
P
Y
L
S
L
Y
K
Y
B
L
P
R
Y
X
Y
T
L
T
M
Y
Y
G
L
A
D
L
Y
F
BADLY BOLDLY FUNNY GLADLY HAPPY KINDLY QUICKLY QUIETLY SADLY SLOWLY SOFTLY SWIFTLY
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📖 Decodable Readers for Endings -ly and -y

Next step: once your child can sound out these words, have them read a matching decodable mini-book. Each Endings -ly and -y reader is a printable story + coloring page using only sounds they've learned.

← Comparing: -er and -est Worksheets View All Phonics Skills Endings -ful and -less Worksheets →

Free Printable Endings -ly and -y Worksheets

These free endings -ly and -y worksheets give advancing readers structured practice with adverb -ly and adjective -y endings. Activities include a full-length decodable passage that embeds the target words in a story, a word sort, phrasing cards for fluency, and a rapid naming (RAN) chart for automaticity. Each worksheet prints cleanly on standard US Letter paper.

For more early literacy resources, explore our sight word flashcards, tracing worksheets, handwriting worksheets, and coloring pages.