Spelling Bee Practice Words 8th Grade

All 180 words

Round 1, List 1: double letters 10

attorney The attorney read the contract twice.
barricade Police set up a barricade for the parade.
buffoon He played the buffoon to make us laugh.
corridor The science labs are down this corridor.
hallucinate In the story, thirsty sailors hallucinate an island.
immaculate Her notebook was immaculate.
opossum An opossum crossed the yard at night.
sheriff The sheriff directed traffic after the storm.
terrific The team had a terrific season.
vaccinate The clinic will vaccinate pets on Saturday.

Round 1, List 2: ie or ei 10

apiece The tickets cost five dollars apiece.
besiege Reporters besiege the coach after each game.
cashier The cashier counted my change.
conceive I cannot conceive of a better plan.
deceit The spy's deceit fooled everyone.
feisty The feisty kitten chased a much bigger dog.
fiend My brother is a crossword fiend.
heist The film is about a museum heist.
relieve The rain will relieve the dry fields.
reprieve The rain gave us a reprieve from practice.

Show all 180 words (160 more)

Round 1, List 3: able or ible 10

adaptable Raccoons are adaptable animals.
admissible The judge ruled the photo admissible.
credible The reporter needed a credible source.
despicable Cheating a friend is despicable.
digestible The guide breaks the rules into digestible parts.
formidable The champion is a formidable opponent.
illegible The rain made the note illegible.
irritable Lack of sleep makes me irritable.
perishable Keep perishable food in the cooler.
pliable Warm clay is soft and pliable.

Round 1, List 4: ance or ence 10

assistance The lost hiker called for assistance.
brilliance The brilliance of the snow hurt my eyes.
convenience For convenience, the forms are online.
defiance He crossed his arms in defiance.
elegance The dancers moved with elegance.
endurance The long race is a test of endurance.
innocence The evidence proved her innocence.
obedience The puppy passed its obedience class.
residence The mayor's residence is on Elm Street.
reverence The crowd fell silent in reverence.

Round 1, List 5: ary or ory 10

adversary She shook hands with her adversary.
auxiliary The auxiliary gym is used for wrestling.
burglary The alarm prevented a burglary.
customary It is customary to shake hands.
directory Look up the office in the directory.
dormitory Her dormitory overlooks the quad.
infirmary The camp infirmary has four beds.
inventory The store takes inventory every January.
sanctuary The island is a bird sanctuary.
voluntary Attendance at the workshop is voluntary.

Round 1, List 6: ous and ious 10

boisterous The boisterous crowd shook the bleachers.
harmonious The choir made a harmonious sound.
luxurious The hotel lobby was luxurious.
monotonous The monotonous drone put me to sleep.
notorious The intersection is notorious for traffic jams.
obnoxious The obnoxious ringtone went off in class.
perilous The climbers chose a perilous route.
preposterous The excuse was preposterous.
prosperous The mill made the town prosperous.
rebellious The rebellious colt jumped the fence.

Round 2, List 7: space 10

celestial Sailors steered by celestial bodies.
cosmology Cosmology asks how the universe began.
galactic Our sun orbits the galactic center.
gravitational The moon's gravitational pull moves the tides.
interstellar The probe has reached interstellar space.
luminosity Astronomers measure the luminosity of each star.
meteoroid A meteoroid is a small rock in space.
planetary The planetary model hangs from the ceiling.
propulsion The rocket's propulsion system passed its test.
zodiac The zodiac is a band of twelve constellations.

Round 2, List 8: computers 10

binary Binary code uses only zeros and ones.
browser Open the page in a new browser tab.
encryption Encryption scrambles the message.
firewall The firewall blocked the strange download.
interface The app has a simple interface.
peripheral A printer is a peripheral device.
processor A faster processor speeds up the laptop.
protocol Computers follow a protocol to share files.
simulation Pilots train in a flight simulation.
spreadsheet Enter the scores in a spreadsheet.

Round 2, List 9: weather 10

arid Only cactus grows on the arid hillside.
cumulus Puffy cumulus clouds drifted over the field.
hailstorm The hailstorm dented every car on the street.
leeward The leeward side of the island is drier.
nimbus A dark nimbus cloud brought rain.
squall A sudden squall tipped the sailboat.
stratus A flat sheet of stratus hid the sun.
thunderhead A thunderhead towered over the plains.
waterspout A waterspout formed over the bay.
windward Rain falls on the windward side of the mountains.

Round 2, List 10: careers 10

accountant The accountant found a missing receipt.
geologist The geologist chipped a sample from the cliff.
interpreter An interpreter signed the whole speech.
optometrist The optometrist tested my vision.
orthodontist My orthodontist tightened my braces.
paramedic The paramedic arrived in four minutes.
physicist The physicist measured the speed of sound.
psychologist The school psychologist visits on Tuesdays.
receptionist The receptionist answered the phone.
zoologist The zoologist tracked a family of otters.

Round 2, List 11: sports 10

archery In archery you aim for the gold center.
badminton We play badminton with a net in the yard.
decathlon He entered the decathlon at the state meet.
equestrian The equestrian team cares for six horses.
fencing She joined the fencing club in ninth grade.
javelin He threw the javelin sixty meters.
lacrosse She carries her lacrosse stick to school.
trampoline The gymnast flipped on the trampoline.
volleyball She served the volleyball over the net.
wrestling Wrestling practice starts after school.

Round 2, List 12: art class 10

ceramic She glazed a ceramic bowl.
earthenware We ate from earthenware plates.
engraving An engraving decorates the silver cup.
etching The etching shows a row of windmills.
foreground A tree stands in the foreground.
impressionism The class studied impressionism in May.
lithograph The museum bought a lithograph of the harbor.
monochrome The photo is in monochrome.
porcelain The porcelain teapot chipped easily.
watercolor He painted the pond in watercolor.

Round 3, List 13: tion, sion and cian 10

apprehension He felt apprehension as the curtain rose.
coalition A coalition of clubs ran the food drive.
comprehension The quiz tests reading comprehension.
condemnation The plan drew swift condemnation.
exaggeration Calling it a flood was an exaggeration.
illustration Each chapter opens with an illustration.
persuasion It took gentle persuasion to get the cat inside.
reconciliation The cousins reached a reconciliation.
rehabilitation The knee needs months of rehabilitation.
statistician A statistician checked the survey results.

Round 3, List 14: prefixes 10

antiseptic The nurse wiped the cut with antiseptic.
circumnavigate The crew set out to circumnavigate the globe.
circumvent They found a way to circumvent the traffic.
intermittent Intermittent showers delayed the game.
subordinate The manager thanked each subordinate.
subsequent The subsequent chapters are shorter.
subterranean A subterranean stream runs under the cave.
superfluous The second paragraph is superfluous.
transient The pain was sharp but transient.
translucent The bathroom window is translucent.

Round 3, List 15: y in the middle 10

analysis Her analysis of the poem was clear.
dynamic She is a dynamic speaker.
hypnosis The magician pretended to use hypnosis.
hysterical The audience found the skit hysterical.
idyllic We spent an idyllic week at the lake.
lyric One lyric in the song makes me smile.
mystify Card tricks mystify my little brother.
syndrome The article explains the syndrome in plain words.
synthetic The jacket is made of synthetic fibers.
typical A typical school day ends at three.

Round 3, List 16: ch that says k or sh 10

chasm The hikers peered into the chasm.
chemistry We mixed two liquids in chemistry.
chenille Grandma's chenille robe hangs by the door.
chiffon Her scarf was pale blue chiffon.
choreograph She will choreograph the opening dance.
chromatic The chromatic scale uses every key.
chromium Chromium makes the bumper shine.
pistachio I ordered pistachio ice cream.
psychiatry He chose psychiatry as his specialty.
technical The manual is full of technical terms.

Round 3, List 17: five syllables or more 10

accessibility The ramp improves accessibility.
characteristic Curiosity is a characteristic of good scientists.
deterioration Rust caused the deterioration of the bridge.
electromagnetic Light is an electromagnetic wave.
hypothetical Let us consider a hypothetical case.
individuality Her hat shows her individuality.
misunderstanding The argument began with a misunderstanding.
sophisticated The lab has sophisticated equipment.
uncharacteristic His silence was uncharacteristic.
unconstitutional The court ruled the law unconstitutional.

Round 3, List 18: the last ten 10

aficionado My uncle is a baseball aficionado.
espionage Codes and disguises fill the espionage novel.
exhilarate A fast sled ride will exhilarate anyone.
ingenious She built an ingenious trap for the mouse.
pageant The town staged a historical pageant.
plagiarize Never plagiarize another writer's work.
poignant The film has a poignant ending.
quintessential Apple pie is the quintessential fair dessert.
sovereign A sovereign country prints its own stamps.
zealot The zealot would not hear another view.

How this list was compiled: Words chosen, sorted into 18 lists of 10 and given sentences for this site. The list is our own suggestion: no published list, contest list or study booklet was opened or copied. SPELLINGS: every word was looked up on 3 October 2026 in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org, CC BY-SA 4.0), where each has an English entry, and in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (ahdictionary.com), read for a second accepted spelling on the headword line. Left out because that dictionary gives a second spelling: shellac (also shellack), glamorous (also glamourous), astronomical, heliocentric, programming (or programing), atmospheric, cryptic, syrup (also sirup), eucalyptus, archaic, mathematical, brusque (also brusk), database (also data base). SOUND-ALIKES: a word whose Wiktionary entry has a homophones line was left out, so no word here is stored with a sound-alike. OTHER LISTS: 171 of the 180 words are on no other spelling or phonics list of this site that runs the spelling test (counted on 3 October 2026). The grade is our suggestion; the rounds and their order are our own. No word is on another spelling bee page of this site that runs the test, the 7th grade and junior high bees included; four (voluntary, dormitory, inventory, opossum) are also on the spelling bee worksheets. SENTENCES are ours, name no person, and none repeats or closely follows a sentence or item in another dataset of this site (checked on 3 October 2026). Licence: own work

How it works

These 180 words are our suggestion for grade 8. Round 1 has one spelling trap a list, Round 2 has words from space, computers, weather, careers, sports and art, and Round 3 reaches aficionado and quintessential. None is on our junior high bee.

Read the full guide

A list of spelling bee words for 8th grade, round by round

Round 1: double letters (barricade, opossum), ie or ei (besiege, heist), able or ible (pliable, credible), ance or ence, ary or ory, and ous (boisterous). Round 2: space (luminosity, zodiac), computers (encryption), weather (cumulus, squall), careers (orthodontist), sports (lacrosse, javelin) and art class (porcelain). Round 3: tion, sion and cian, prefixes (circumvent), y in the middle (idyllic), ch that says k or sh (chasm, chiffon), five syllables or more, and a last ten.

Practice alone or run a spelling bee for 8th graders

Alone, press Start round and type each word you hear; the results list the misses beside what you typed. For a class bee, print the Word list and let a reader call the ten words.

After c the order is ei: conceive, deceit. Heist and feisty just have to be learned.
Statistician is the only cian word in List 13; the rest end in tion or sion.

Questions and answers

Are these printable spelling bee 8th grade words?

Yes. Choose Word list and press Print for the reader's copy of a list, ten words with a sentence each, or Test sheet for numbered blank lines.

How is this different from the junior high bee list?

The junior high page has about fifty subject words for grades 7 and 8. This page has 180 for grade 8 alone, in three rounds, and repeats none of them.

Why are sieve, shellac and accessory missing?

Shellac is also spelled shellack, and sieve and accessory each have a sound-alike in the dictionary (civ, accessary). A bee word here has one right answer.