• 50 words

3rd Grade Spelling Bee Words, From tion to Silent Letters

Five bee rounds, from tion and ture endings to silent letters, read aloud word, sentence, word.

Edit this list or use your own words

The 12 words of this list. Add or change any. For your own list, press Clear first.

For a sentence, put it after a colon: rain: The rain fell all day. Up to 40 words.

Sheet to show and print

Warm-up: tion (nation)

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.nationThe whole nation watched the rocket launch.
  2. 2.mentionDid the teacher mention a quiz?
  3. 3.cautionUse caution on the icy sidewalk.
  4. 4.sectionRead the first section of the chapter.
  5. 5.fictionA story made up by a writer is fiction.
  6. 6.notionShe had a notion to bake bread.
  7. 7.auctionThe old desk was sold at an auction.
  8. 8.suctionThe cup sticks to the glass by suction.
  9. 9.junctionTurn left at the road junction.
  10. 10.optionWalking home is one option.
  11. 11.solutionWe found a solution to the puzzle.
  12. 12.pollutionSmoke from cars adds to air pollution.

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Make a word search

Each word is read aloud, then used in a sentence. Type what you hear. The marks come at the end.

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Reading speed

Accents do not count: café may be typed as cafe, and the marks show how it is written.

Only voices built into this device are used, so the words are not sent to a speech service to be read. With no voice, a person reads the words from the last page of the test sheet.

Review test from several lists
Tick the lists to draw 10 words from

The words are mixed from the lists you tick, so a review test needs a read-aloud voice.

Next step Easier rounds: the grade 2 beePick the next speller at random

All 50 words

Warm-up: tion (nation) 12

  • auction The old desk was sold at an auction.
  • caution Use caution on the icy sidewalk.
  • fiction A story made up by a writer is fiction.
  • junction Turn left at the road junction.
  • mention Did the teacher mention a quiz?
  • nation The whole nation watched the rocket launch.
  • notion She had a notion to bake bread.
  • option Walking home is one option.
  • pollution Smoke from cars adds to air pollution.
  • section Read the first section of the chapter.
  • solution We found a solution to the puzzle.
  • suction The cup sticks to the glass by suction.

Round 2: ture (culture) 10

  • culture Music is part of every culture.
  • fixture The light fixture hangs over the table.
  • gesture A wave is a friendly gesture.
  • lecture The scientist gave a lecture on stars.
  • pasture The sheep grazed in the green pasture.
  • posture Sit up straight for good posture.
  • puncture A nail caused a puncture in the tire.
  • texture Sandpaper has a rough texture.
  • venture We will venture into the dark cave.
  • vulture A vulture circled over the desert.

Round 3: animals (buffalo) 10

  • buffalo A buffalo has a large hump on its back.
  • camel A camel has a humped back.
  • falcon A falcon dives fast to catch its prey.
  • hamster My hamster runs on its wheel at night.
  • jellyfish A jellyfish has no bones.
  • lobster A lobster has two big claws.
  • otter The otter floated on its back.
  • peacock The peacock spread its colorful tail.
  • rooster The rooster crows at sunrise.
  • sparrow A sparrow hopped along the fence.

Round 4: weather, land and food (meadow) 10

  • blizzard The blizzard dropped two feet of snow.
  • cabbage The soup had carrots and cabbage.
  • cracker I had a cracker with cheese.
  • lettuce Wash the lettuce before you make the salad.
  • meadow Wildflowers grew in the meadow.
  • noodle One long noodle slipped off my fork.
  • onion Cutting an onion can make your eyes water.
  • prairie Tall grass covers the prairie.
  • thunder We heard thunder after the flash.
  • waterfall The waterfall splashed into a pool.

Final round: silent letters, ch said as k (science) 8

  • ache Too much candy gave me a stomach ache.
  • chemist A chemist mixes things in a lab.
  • chrome The bike has shiny chrome handlebars.
  • echo Our shouts made an echo in the canyon.
  • knapsack Pack a lunch in your knapsack.
  • science We grew beans in science class.
  • wreck Divers explored the wreck of an old ship.
  • wrinkle Iron out the wrinkle in your shirt.

How it works

Twelve of these 50 words end in tion and ten in ture, so the first two rounds drill those endings; the last three add animals, outdoor and food words, and silent letters. Grade 3 is our suggestion.

Read the full guide

What each round tests

The warm-up ends in tion (nation, pollution) and Round 2 in ture (texture, vulture). Round 3 names animals (buffalo, peacock, falcon), Round 4 weather, land and food (blizzard, prairie, lettuce). The final round has silent letters and ch said as k: wrinkle, knapsack, chrome.

Reading the bee aloud

Start round reads each word, a sentence and the word again; the speller types, and the marks wait for the end. Retry the missed words repeats only the misses. For a spoken bee, choose Word list and press Print: the reader gets the words with their sentences.

  • Tion is said shun and ture is said cher: say each word slowly before typing it.
  • In knapsack the k is silent, as it is in knee and knot.

Questions and answers

What are hard spelling words for 3rd graders?

Words whose sound gives little away: suction and caution end in tion but sound like shun, texture ends in ture, and wrinkle, knapsack and chemist hide a letter. This page holds 50 of them in 5 bee rounds.

Are these on the 3rd grade spelling lists?

No. None of the 50 is on our grade 2, 3 or 4 lists, so a bee here does not repeat the weekly words. The grade is our suggestion, and Edit this list swaps in any word.

How long is each round?

The warm-up holds 12 words, Rounds 2 to 4 hold 10 each and the final round 8, 50 in all. A class of 25 can each spell two words before the list runs out; a random name picker keeps turns fair.

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