The present disclosure describes oligonucleotide-tethered nucleotides, methods of making them, and methods of using them. The oligonucleotide-tethered nucleotides comprise, in some embodiments, a nucleotide linked to an oligonucleotide of from about 3 to about 100 nucleotides in length. These oligonucleotide-tethered nucleotides can be used to label a plurality of different types of nucleic acids in a plurality of different situations with a known oligonucleotide, which can serve as a barcode in some embodiments. The resulting oligonucleotide-labeled nucleic acids oligo-nucleotides can be used in a variety of nucleic acid sequencing methods.