• 90 words

Halloween Spelling Words, From Bat to Masquerade

Ninety spooky words in three levels, bat to jack-o'-lantern: pick a list, press Start test and type what you hear.

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The 10 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.

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Level 1, List 1: short vowels

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

  1. 1.batA bat flew out of the barn.
  2. 2.catThe black cat sat on the fence.
  3. 3.hatThe tall hat kept falling off.
  4. 4.webA spider spins a web.
  5. 5.wigHe wore a bright green wig.
  6. 6.bagMy bag is full of candy.
  7. 7.fogThick fog hid the old house.
  8. 8.bugA plastic bug sat on my plate.
  9. 9.maskI made a mask from a paper plate.
  10. 10.duskWe go out at dusk.

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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.

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All 90 words

Level 1, List 1: short vowels 10

  • bag My bag is full of candy.
  • bat A bat flew out of the barn.
  • bug A plastic bug sat on my plate.
  • cat The black cat sat on the fence.
  • dusk We go out at dusk.
  • fog Thick fog hid the old house.
  • hat The tall hat kept falling off.
  • mask I made a mask from a paper plate.
  • web A spider spins a web.
  • wig He wore a bright green wig.

Level 1, List 2: long vowels and vowel teams 10

  • bone The toy skeleton lost one bone.
  • boo I jumped when my sister said boo.
  • broom Sweep the porch with the broom.
  • cape My cape is red on the inside.
  • crow A black crow sat on the gate.
  • hoot We heard an owl hoot twice.
  • moon The full moon lit the path.
  • sweet This candy is too sweet for me.
  • toad A toad hopped across the wet path.
  • treat Pick one treat from the bowl.

Level 1, List 3: two consonants at the start 10

  • black She wore black boots and a cape.
  • claw The cat has one sharp claw out.
  • creep We creep past the dark window.
  • frog A green frog sat by the pond.
  • scare You did not scare me at all.
  • skull Your skull protects your brain.
  • slime We made green slime with glue.
  • spell The wizard in the story cast a spell.
  • stick He found a long stick for his costume.
  • trick Say trick or treat at each door.

Level 2, List 4: two syllables 10

  • candy Sort the candy into three piles.
  • costume My costume has a long tail.
  • goblin The goblin in the tale hid gold.
  • lantern Hang the paper lantern by the door.
  • monster The monster in the book was friendly.
  • party The class party starts after lunch.
  • pumpkin We picked a pumpkin at the farm.
  • shadow My shadow looked ten feet tall.
  • spider A spider has eight legs.
  • wizard The wizard wore a robe with stars.

Level 2, List 5: compound words 10

  • broomstick The witch in the story rode a broomstick.
  • cobweb A dusty cobweb hung in the corner.
  • doorbell Ring the doorbell only once.
  • flashlight Carry a flashlight after dark.
  • haystack We hid behind a haystack.
  • moonlight The pond shone in the moonlight.
  • nightmare A nightmare woke me at two.
  • scarecrow A scarecrow stands in the corn field.
  • tombstone We made a tombstone out of cardboard.
  • werewolf The werewolf howled in the old movie.

Level 2, List 6: silent letters, gh and au 10

  • autumn Leaves turn orange in autumn.
  • castle The old castle had a squeaky gate.
  • fright The loud bang gave me a fright.
  • ghost My little brother dressed as a ghost.
  • gnaw Mice can gnaw through a cardboard box.
  • haunted The haunted house ride was sold out.
  • knock Knock on the door and wait.
  • night Halloween night falls on October 31.
  • whisper Whisper the secret password at the door.
  • witch The witch stirred a pot of soup.

Level 3, List 7: endings that change the base word 10

  • carving We spent the evening carving a pumpkin.
  • creepier The attic is creepier than the basement.
  • foggy It was a foggy night by the lake.
  • grinning A grinning pumpkin sat on each step.
  • mysterious A mysterious light blinked in the woods.
  • scary The movie was too scary for me.
  • slimy The inside of a pumpkin feels slimy.
  • spookiest Our street has the spookiest yard in town.
  • terrified The terrified puppy hid from the thunder.
  • trembling The kitten was trembling under the porch.

Level 3, List 8: vowel traps 10

  • cauldron Soup bubbled in a black iron cauldron.
  • creature A strange creature stared from the pond.
  • disguise Nobody knew me in my disguise.
  • fierce The costume had a fierce dragon mask.
  • ghoul The ghoul in the story lived underground.
  • mischief The goblins were up to mischief.
  • nocturnal Most owls are nocturnal hunters.
  • poisonous Some bright mushrooms are poisonous.
  • shriek A shriek came from the top floor.
  • weird A weird noise came from the attic.

Level 3, List 9: long words and one with an apostrophe 10

  • cemetery The old cemetery sits on a hill.
  • Halloween Halloween is the last day of October.
  • jack-o'-lantern We lit the jack-o'-lantern on the porch.
  • masquerade Guests wore masks to the masquerade ball.
  • phantom The phantom in the play wore white.
  • potion She mixed a potion from juice and soda.
  • skeleton An adult skeleton has about 206 bones.
  • superstition Fear of black cats is a superstition.
  • tarantula A tarantula is a large hairy spider.
  • vampire The vampire costume came with plastic fangs.

How it works

Ninety Halloween spelling words in 3 levels of 3 lists each. Level 1 begins with bat, web and fog, and Level 3 ends on masquerade and jack-o'-lantern, the one word that needs two hyphens and an apostrophe.

Read the full guide

Three levels, from bat to masquerade

Level 1 is for kindergarten and first grade: short vowels (mask, dusk), vowel teams (broom, toad) and opening blends (skull, claw). Level 2, about second to fourth grade, brings compounds such as scarecrow and the silent letters in ghost, knock and autumn. Level 3, fifth grade and up, has the y that turns to i in spookiest and the vowel traps in weird and cauldron. The grade bands are only our suggestion. For mixed ages, Review test from several lists draws 10 words from two levels.

The one word with an apostrophe

In jack-o'-lantern the o' is a worn-down of, so the apostrophe stands where the f was. The test wants both hyphens and the apostrophe, and a curly apostrophe counts like a straight one.

  • Halloween is a Scots shortening of Allhalloweven, All Saints' eve. The older spelling Hallowe'en shows where the v fell out.
  • The h in ghost dates from 1484, when William Caxton printed Holy Ghoost, probably copying the Dutch spelling gheest.
  • The were in werewolf is an Old English word for man, so the word means man-wolf. It has no h.

Questions and answers

Why are cemetery and cauldron so hard to spell?

Cemetery has three e's and no a. Weird breaks the i before e rule, and mischief keeps it. Cauldron hides a u. The American Heritage Dictionary also records caldron, which this test marks wrong. All four are on Lists 8 and 9.

Are any of these words too scary for young children?

The lists stay with costumes, candy and picture-book figures: ghost, witch, goblin, vampire, werewolf. No named character appears and nothing is gory. Tombstone in List 5 and cemetery in List 9 are darker. Take a word out under Edit this list.

Does Halloween need a capital H?

Yes. Capitals count is on when the page opens, so halloween with a small h is marked wrong and the results say it needs its capital. It is the only capital on the page. Untick Capitals count, under Voice, speed and marking, for younger spellers.

Is it witch or which?

The figure with the broomstick is witch, with a t. Which asks a question. Most American voices say the two alike, so List 6 follows the word with The witch stirred a pot of soup. Type which and the results say it sounds the same.

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