Words ending in -ough

Two sentences from the story: "I had to be involved, though I'd have preferred to finish my novel" and "We're old enough to look after ourselves, Ma."

Both end in -ough, but they don't rhyme at all! Though rhymes with low. Enough rhymes with puff. Same letters, completely different sounds.

English has many -ough words, and the spelling doesn't tell you how to say them. The only way is to learn each one by saying it aloud.

Sort them by sound:

Read the book's paragraph aloud: "In spite of a nagging cough, the woman kept working on her farm, right through the rough weather. She filled the trough with water for her cows and ploughed the fields. She picked raw mangoes from a low bough for a spicy chutney. Though the day had been tough, she smiled, as she'd already made dough for enough rotis for dinner."

Tongue twister, as fast as you can but clearly: "The boy with the tough dough on the rose bough fell in the trough and caught a cough." Four sounds, one spelling!