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Spelling Bee Lists for Upper Grades

Q: Q: Are there any FUN ways to practice spelling bee words?

A: YES! Students can play spelling bee games , and solve crosswords , word scrambles , cryptograms and almost any kind of word play game. All of these will help kids learn and remember how to spell tricky words!

Are you a teacher looking for spelling bee lists to use in your next classroom competition? Or perhaps you're a parent or student trying to "study ahead" on some typical spelling bee words. Either way, this list should help! I've carefully compiled this list after researching a number of online and in-print resources.

This page features 120 spelling bee words for 8th grade. It's a great study list for students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Use the links below to find my lists for other grades.

Printable spelling bee list for 8th grade

1 budget

2 corral

3 inept

4 dilemma

5 frostbitten

6 mayhem

7 parachute

8 voucher

9 meteor

10 statute

11 acoustics

12 gymnasium

13 behavior

14 gnarled

15 horrific

16 scholar

17 stampede

18 newsstand

19 observatory

20 crevice

21 desirable

22 villain

23 integrity

24 professional

25 accuracy

26 legitimate

27 sieve

28 brilliance

29 luncheon

30 withhold

31 berserk

32 hospitality

33 neutral

34 obstinate

35 collateral

36 pageant

37 impassable

38 luxurious

39 abalone

40 mosaic

41 efficiency

42 concocted

43 fiasco

44 biographical

45 haphazard

46 calamity

47 optimism

48 endeavor

49 diagnosis

50 epidemic

51 frivolous

52 multitude

53 rehearsal

54 colleague

55 inauguration

56 confiscate

57 precipice

58 symmetrical

59 dialogue

60 abbreviate

61 innumerable

62 critique

63 discrepancy

64 mathematician

65 successor

66 grotesque

67 accelerate

68 familiarity

69 cocoon

70 negligence

71 subtlety

72 avalanche

73 recuperate

74 amateur

75 treacherous

76 equilibrium

77 anecdote

78 misdemeanor

79 quadrilateral

80 perseverance

81 piccolo

82 susceptible

83 mythological

84 chameleon

85 lieutenant

86 aerial

87 unconscious

88 chandelier

89 erroneous

90 apostrophe

91 psychiatrist

92 simultaneous

93 pneumonia

94 acquisition

95 penitentiary

96 variegated

97 reservoir

98 accommodations

99 synchronize

100 quantifiable

101 acknowledging

102 proprietor

103 espionage

104 undecipherable

105 mischievous

106 schizophrenic

107 unanimous

108 pseudonym

109 accompaniment

110 blasphemous

111 eccentric

112 anonymous

113 incalculable

114 loathsome

115 magnanimous

116 coalesce

117 continuum

118 dossier

119 restaurateur

120 boutonniere

Note: You may wish to adjust this list for your group of students. Feel free to substitute a few easier words or insert some more difficult words.

Important Tips

1. Give students lots of practice in oral spelling before competitions. Ask students to spell words frequently aloud, even from their seats, for a bit of "performance" practice.

2. Be sure to use spelling bee words in sentences when quizzing students. For instance, bizarre, should be clarified so it won't be confused with bazaar: The dog's behavior was so bizarre, the veterinarian knew it was gravely ill.

3. One set of tricky spelling words may be those that contain "extra" vowels, vowels that form their own syllable, or vowels that are frequently replaced with incorrect vowels. Troublesome words include: 'ancient

coupon
disastrous
familiar
marriage
separate
temperature
vacuum
vegetable

One of the best ways to learn some of these these words is to over-emphasize the problematic vowel when pronouncing the words. For instance, teach your student to say:

vegetable: Say "vej-EH-tuh-buhl"
familiar: Say "fuh-mil-E-yer" or "fuh-mil-I-yer"
vacuum: Say "vac-you-oo-um"

We also have spelling bee lists for:

Spelling Bee Words List - 25 Challenging Spelling Bee Words with Pronunciations and Meanings! Teachers, use these for classroom warm-ups or competitions. Students, learn these before your next competition!

chrysanthemum

You may also enjoy this list of 50 Hard Spelling Bee Words and Definitions. This is required learning for anyone who wants to excel in an upper grade spelling competition. Please take time to learn the word meanings, along with the spellings!

Worksheets for More Spelling & Vocab Practice

At-TEN-tion! Complete the spellings of words with the letters TEN on this fun English worksheet. Great vocabulary and spelling practice! For grades 4-8.

Croaky Meets the Plumber and Extra Letters Worksheets : Students chose the correctly spelled words to complete an interesting story or eliminate extra letters to solve a word puzzle. Based on our sixth grade spelling word list.

8th Grade Worksheet featuring an ARMADILLO! Students must form a word for each clue using only the letters in ARMADILLO, then place the words correctly into the diagram. Great vocab and spelling practice!

Wacky Weather Cryptogram Worksheet: Puzzle page for upper grades. Includes instructions so students, parents or teachers can make more cryptogram puzzles with any word list. Grades 6-9.

Teachers: Need Another Spelling Bee List?

Our Spelling Bee Toolbox eBooks are comprehensive resources for anyone who wants a simple way to put together a classroom, all-school or multi-school spelling bee.

Each eBook contains 600 words and sentences, rules, award certificates, organizational tips, student helps and much more. We also offer additional sets of 600 spelling bee words and sentences for those who don't need all the other bells and whistles. Also, see our 100 Difficult Words for Spelling Bees that includes definitions, pronunciations, sentences and more.

The Colossal Spelling Bee Word List for Grades 3-5

Or use our Monumental Bee Word Lists, if you're holding a competition in which you require definitions, parts of speech, language of origin and sentences. In each eBook, you'll find 400 all-new words!

Students:

If you're looking for more words to study, see our list of frequently misspelled words. Or take our Dictionery/dictionary quiz!

FAQs

Q: Where can I find high-quality spelling bee lists?

A: Scripps Spelling Bee has resources at https://spellingbee.com/. Many more free spelling bee lists can be found here at https://www.spelling-words-well.com/ At this site, lists for grades 2-8 are compiled by a veteran teacher and educational author.

Q: What tips can I give students who are preparing to compete in spelling bees?

A: 1) Students should have lots of practice spelling orally.

2) Students should learn words in context. They should listen carefully as words are used in sentences so they can distinguish between the words "capital" and "capitol" for example.

3) Students should practice challenging words: those with troublesome vowel combinations, silent consonants, and unfamiliar words.

Q: Are there any FUN ways to practice spelling bee words?

A: YES! Students can play spelling bee games, and solve crosswords, word scrambles , cryptograms and almost any kind of word play game. All of these will help kids learn and remember how to spell tricky words!

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Ann Richmond Fisher is a longtime published educational writer, a former classroom teacher and a former homeschool teacher. Ann's spelling bee resources, graded spelling word lists, spelling games, worksheets, and other language arts resources have become respected around the globe since she launched Spelling-Words-Well in 2010.

Ann is also the creator of www.word-game-world.com.

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