Free · no sign-up · prints on letter or A4
Spelling Bee Word Lists
Free printable spelling bee word lists for grades K-5 plus hard words. Print word lists, pronouncer sheets with definitions, practice tests and study sheets.
Grade 3Spell grade-level wordsCCSS L.3.2.e
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Grade 3 · Spell grade-level words · CCSS L.3.2.e
Answer key
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Grade levels and Common Core standards for this tool
The grade and standard on each sheet follow your settings. Here is every combination this tool can make:
| Grade | Skill | Common Core |
|---|---|---|
| Grades K–1 | Spell grade-level words | L.K.2.d, L.1.2.d |
| Grade 2 | Spell grade-level words | L.2.2.d |
| Grade 3 | Spell grade-level words | L.3.2.e |
| Grade 4 | Spell grade-level words | L.4.2.d |
| Grade 5 | Spell grade-level words | L.5.2.e |
| Grades K–5 | Spelling bee words | L.1.2.d, L.2.2.d, L.3.2.e, L.4.2.d, L.5.2.e |
- CCSS L.K.2.d
- Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
- CCSS L.1.2.d
- Use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words.
- CCSS L.2.2.d
- Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).
- CCSS L.3.2.e
- Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
- CCSS L.4.2.d
- Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
- CCSS L.5.2.e
- Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
Standards text quoted from corestandards.org. K5Print is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
A spelling bee word list is a set of words sorted by difficulty, used for practice by teachers, parents and students. This free tool builds a printable spelling bee word list for each grade level, and it runs in your web browser with no account or sign-up needed. Pick a level, choose how many words you want and what to print, and the sheet preview updates as you change settings. The lists cover Kindergarten through 5th grade, plus a Challenge level of hard words, with about 850 words in all. You can print a plain word list, a pronouncer sheet for the person reading words aloud, a practice test with writing lines, or a study sheet. You can also type in your own words.
The spelling bee word lists and practice sheets you make are free for personal, classroom and commercial use, including Etsy printables, Teachers Pay Teachers and KDP workbooks.
How to use the Spelling Bee Words tool
- Type a heading in Title on the sheet, or keep the default, Spelling Bee Words.
- Pick a level in Word list. Choose My own words if you want to use your own list.
- If you chose My own words, type or paste your words into Your words, one per line or separated by commas.
- Set How many words (the default is 20).
- Set Word order to Easiest first (most common), A to Z, or Random mix.
- Choose What to print: Word list, Pronouncer sheet, Practice test, or Study sheet.
- Tick Show part of speech, or Print the definition next to each line, if you need them. Leave Include answer key on if you want the answers.
- Set the paper size to US Letter or A4.
- Click Print or save as PDF.
The sheet preview updates as soon as you change a setting. The browser’s print dialog can also save a PDF. The page address stores your settings, so a bookmarked or shared link opens the same sheet again. Reset settings restores the defaults.
Tip: print the pronouncer sheet for yourself and the word list or study sheet for the spellers, without pressing New worksheet in between. Changing What to print keeps the same words, so the two sheets match.
What are good spelling bee words for each grade?
Good spelling bee words match the grade a speller is in, and the tool sorts its words into six levels to make that easy. Each grade level has 140 to 160 words, and the words get longer as the grades go up. Kindergarten and 1st grade use words with 3 to 4 letters, such as cold, snow, ship and cat.
From there, 2nd grade words have 4 to 6 letters (yellow, island, enough, winter), 3rd grade words have 5 to 7 (ancient, gravity, weather, mineral), 4th grade words have 6 to 9 (mountain, dinosaur, beautiful, telescope), and 5th grade words have 7 to 11 (temperature, vegetable, earthquake, orchestra).
What are some hard spelling bee words?
Hard spelling bee words are in the Challenge level, which holds about 75 words. Each Challenge word has 8 or more letters and at least two tricky spelling patterns. Examples include consciousness, pronunciation, rhythmic, cinnamon, squirrel, magnificent and rhinoceros.
The tricky patterns are silent letters such as kn- and wr-, double consonants, -tion and -sion endings, ph, ei and ie, and -able and -ible endings. Spellers who learn these patterns find long words easier to break into parts.
Is this the official Scripps spelling bee word list?
No. These are K5Print’s own graded lists, not the official Scripps National Spelling Bee lists. Scripps publishes its own word lists, and those are not reproduced on this page.
For a school bee that feeds into the Scripps National Spelling Bee, use the official study materials for that program. The lists here are a separate graded set for classroom practice, class bees and home study.
How do I run a classroom spelling bee?
A classroom spelling bee has one person reading the words and spellers taking turns. Rules vary by school, but a common procedure looks like this:
- The pronouncer says the word.
- The speller may ask for the definition, the part of speech or a sentence that uses the word.
- The speller says the word, spells it letter by letter, and says it again.
A classroom bee usually starts with words a level below the grade and moves to harder lists in later rounds. The Challenge list is meant for final rounds or older spellers. Print the pronouncer sheet for the person reading the words.
Can I get spelling bee words with meaning and sentence?
Yes. Choose Pronouncer sheet (definitions and sentences) in What to print. The sheet has four columns: the word, its part of speech, a definition and an example sentence.
Definitions and most example sentences come from Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0), shortened. Other sentences come from Tatoeba (CC0). The sheet prints this credit at the bottom of the pronouncer page.
Can I use my own spelling words?
Yes. Choose My own words in Word list and type or paste up to 100 words into Your words. Separate them with new lines or commas.
If a word is in the built-in lists, its part of speech, definition and sentence fill in on the pronouncer sheet. If it is not, those columns stay blank, so you can write them in by hand.
How were the grade levels chosen?
The grade levels were built from K5Print’s K-5 word pages. Words were sorted by three things: their length, how common they are in children’s reference reading, and how many tricky spelling patterns they contain. Words that were unsuitable for a school setting were removed.
The levels are a starting point. Teachers should adjust them for their own class.
Questions teachers and parents ask
Does this tool cost anything or need an account?
No. The tool is free, it runs in your web browser, and nothing is uploaded. You do not need an account or sign-up.
Can I save the worksheet as a PDF?
Yes. Click **Print or save as PDF**, and the browser's print dialog can save the sheet as a PDF. You can set the paper size to US Letter or A4 before you print.
Where does the answer key appear?
Only the practice test has an answer key. When **Include answer key** is on, which it is by default, the key lists the test words in order on its own separate page. Turn the option off if you do not want it.
Will the words change if I switch between formats?
No. Switching between the word list, pronouncer sheet, practice test and study sheet keeps the same words, so you can print matching sets.
How do I get a different set of words at the same level?
Click **New worksheet**. It makes a different sheet with the same settings, picking a different set of words from the same level. Each sheet has a short worksheet code shown under the buttons.
What does the practice test look like?
Choose **Practice test (writing lines)** in **What to print**. It has numbered writing lines for each word. If you tick **Print the definition next to each line**, the definition appears with the word blanked out.
How many words can I choose?
You can pick 10, 15, 20 (the default), 25, 30, 40 or 50 words, or All words in the list.
Can I sell spelling bee word lists and practice sheets from this page?
Yes. The spelling bee word lists and practice sheets you make here are royalty-free for personal, classroom and commercial use, including Etsy printables, Teachers Pay Teachers and KDP workbooks. You do not need to give credit. The only limit is that you may not copy the generator itself to run a competing service; see the [terms](/terms/).
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