Year 2 spelling words
187 words in 6 groups.
In Year 2 children meet more ways to spell the same sound (vowel patterns), begin adding endings such as -ing and -ed, and build compound words.
This is our own word bank, informed by the Australian Curriculum v9.0 spelling progression, with some words from England's National Curriculum statutory lists. It is not an official list and is not endorsed by ACARA or any other education authority. Words are shown in British English spelling (colour, centre), alphabetically within each group; learners who choose American English see the American spelling automatically.
Vowel patterns 78 words
The same vowel sound can be spelled several ways (ai, ay, a-e; ee, ea; oa, ow). Learning which pattern goes where is a big step in Years 2 to 4.
- aim
- arm
- boat
- born
- brain
- broom
- brown
- car
- chain
- coach
- coin
- cool
- corn
- dark
- deep
- display
- farm
- feet
- float
- foam
- food
- for
- fort
- fright
- gain
- goat
- green
- harm
- horn
- keep
- loaf
- loud
- moon
- mouth
- need
- north
- pain
- paint
- park
- pie
- point
- pool
- power
- rain
- road
- roof
- room
- round
- sail
- seed
- shark
- sharp
- sheep
- sheet
- short
- shout
- sight
- sleep
- snail
- soap
- spoon
- sport
- star
- storm
- tail
- three
- throat
- tie
- tight
- toast
- tooth
- torch
- toy
- treat
- wait
- wheel
- yard
- zoo
Tricky words 37 words
Common words that don't follow the usual sound-to-letter rules, so they have to be learned by sight and practice.
- about
- after
- because
- before
- both
- could
- down
- each
- first
- found
- house
- into
- many
- money
- more
- most
- next
- now
- other
- out
- over
- place
- right
- school
- should
- some
- them
- then
- there
- water
- were
- what
- when
- where
- who
- would
- wrong
Suffixes 31 words
Endings that change a word's meaning or job (-ing, -ed, -ful, -ly), including the rules for doubling a letter or dropping a silent e.
- cleaned
- cooked
- cooking
- eating
- helped
- helping
- jumped
- jumping
- laughed
- looked
- looking
- needed
- painted
- painting
- played
- playing
- reading
- running
- safely
- singing
- sleeping
- swimming
- talked
- talking
- walked
- walking
- wanted
- watched
- wished
- worked
- working
Blends and digraphs 15 words
Words that combine consonant blends (like str- or -nd) and digraphs (like sh, ch, th).
- black
- brisk
- crab
- drip
- frost
- glow
- grass
- plump
- sled
- slip
- spin
- stamp
- stand
- swing
- twin
Compound words 15 words
Two words joined into one, such as playground or sunflower. Spell each part, then put them together.
- backyard
- bedroom
- birthday
- cannot
- daytime
- fireworks
- football
- rainbow
- raindrop
- seesaw
- snowball
- sunlight
- sunset
- teatime
- weekday
Plurals 11 words
More than one: adding s or es, changing y to ies, and the irregular ones that change completely.
- babies
- bunnies
- candies
- cherries
- cities
- daisies
- fairies
- ladies
- parties
- puppies
- stories
Year 2 spelling questions
How many Year 2 spelling words are there?
Our Year 2 word bank has 187 words, in 6 groups such as vowel patterns, tricky words, suffixes.
Is this an official Year 2 spelling list?
No. The Australian Curriculum v9.0 describes the kinds of spelling knowledge children build each year but does not publish a word list. This is our own selection, informed by that progression. It also includes some words from England's National Curriculum statutory spelling lists (Years 3 to 6). It is not produced or endorsed by ACARA or any other education authority.
Are the words spelled the American way?
This page shows the library in British English (colour, centre). Learners who choose American English when they sign up are given the American spelling (color, center) and its example sentences automatically.
How can my child practise these Year 2 words?
Every Spell Kingdom game draws from this word bank for the year the learner has chosen, and words a child misses come back more often. On the Family plan a parent can also type in this week's school list.
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