Fifth grade spelling list
5th grade spelling words, grouped by pattern
One hundred and twenty fifth-grade-level words in twelve groups, each with the spelling pattern it practices. Use a group as a weekly list, or alongside the list your child brings home.
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Snap Spell
What spelling words do 5th graders learn?
Fifth grade spelling moves to longer words built from parts: suffixes such as -tion, -sion, -ous and -able, prefixes such as dis- and mis-, doubled consonants before -ing and -ed, silent letters, ie/ei words, homophones and Greek and Latin roots. Learning a pattern group together makes each word easier to remember.
120 spelling words for 5th grade
Each group has ten words and a short note on the pattern. One group makes a good weekly list.
-tion and -sion
action, direction, education, invention, population, decision, division, explosion, permission, television. -tion says “shun”; -sion says “zhun” or “shun” and often follows base words ending in -d, -de or -mit: decide → decision, permit → permission.
-ous and -ious
famous, nervous, dangerous, enormous, various, curious, serious, delicious, precious, mysterious. The ending says “us” and makes a describing word: fame → famous, mystery → mysterious.
-able and -ible
comfortable, valuable, reasonable, believable, available, possible, terrible, visible, horrible, incredible. -able usually follows a whole word you can still see (comfort, reason); -ible usually follows a part that is not a word on its own (poss-, vis-).
-ance and -ence
distance, balance, entrance, importance, appearance, difference, silence, evidence, patience, confidence. Match the ending to a related word: important → importance, different → difference, silent → silence.
Prefixes
unusual, unnecessary, disagree, disappear, misplace, misspell, rewrite, recycle, preview, prehistoric. A prefix joins the front without changing the base word, so dis + appear has one s and mis + spell has two.
Doubling the last consonant
beginning, forgotten, admitted, committed, controlled, occurred, preferred, referred, regretted, equipped. When the last syllable is stressed and ends in one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant: begin → beginning.
Silent letters
knowledge, knuckle, wrinkle, wrestle, answer, island, castle, whistle, doubt, autumn. Say the silent letter while practicing (is-land, ans-wer, dou-b-t) so it stays in the written word.
ie and ei
believe, achieve, field, shield, piece, receive, ceiling, deceive, neighbor, weight. I before e, except after c (receive, ceiling); when it says “ay”, it is ei (neighbor, weight).
-ture and -sure
adventure, creature, furniture, mixture, temperature, measure, treasure, pleasure, exposure, enclosure. -ture says “cher” as in picture; -sure after a vowel says “zher” as in measure.
Homophones
principal, principle, stationary, stationery, weather, whether, aloud, allowed, desert, dessert. Practice each pair in a short sentence: the principal runs the school; dessert has two s’s, like a second helping.
Greek and Latin roots
telephone, photograph, autograph, microscope, telescope, transport, portable, inspect, spectator, biography. tele means far, graph write, scope look, port carry, spect see, bio life.
Often-misspelled words
library, February, government, probably, separate, definitely, environment, restaurant, Wednesday, necessary. Say the hidden parts aloud while practicing: li-brar-y, prob-ab-ly, sep-a-rate.
A weekly plan for one pattern group
About ten minutes a day covers ten words.
- 1 Monday: read the group together, talk about the pattern, and give a quick pretest.
- 2 Tuesday and Wednesday: practice the words missed in the pretest, saying, writing and checking each one.
- 3 Thursday: a practice test of all ten words, in a new order.
- 4 Friday: the final test, then move any missed words into next week’s list.
Practice this list in Snap Spell
Copy the words of one group and paste them into Paste / Type Words, or type in the list your child’s class sends. Snap Spell keeps each list with its own progress. Practice Together reads each word aloud while your child writes on paper, and Auto Dictation reads the words hands-free, once, twice or three times each, with 3 to 15 seconds to write. Afterwards, Check Answers lets you mark each word, “Spell it” lets your child type the words and checks every answer, and missed words come back in Tricky Words.
Questions about 5th grade spelling words
How many spelling words a week for 5th grade?
Ten to twenty words a week is common. Each group on this page has ten, so one group makes a full weekly list, and two groups make a longer one.
What if my child’s class has its own list?
Practice the class list first, and use these groups as extra practice for the patterns it covers. In Snap Spell you can scan the class list with the camera and check every word before saving.
How do I give a spelling test at home?
Print the free spelling test template, read each word aloud (or let Snap Spell’s Auto Dictation read them), and check the answers together.
Ready to practice this week’s words?
Download Snap Spell, paste in one group from this page or scan your child’s list, and start the first session.
