CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 2 SPELLING LISTS
How to use the spelling lists
They are a teacher resource and can be used at your discretion.
There are 30 lists, with ten words per list, each following a particular letter pattern
or spelling rule. They are not organised as lists to be learned each week but are
provided as a resource for you to draw on, for example, for reference or to prepare
as a display in the classroom. You may, however, decide to give groups of spelling
lists as a learning homework task if it fits in with your school’s philosophy of teaching
spelling. Drilling is just one element of learning to spell and progress cannot be
measured just by asking learners to write a list of words, out of context, in a test.
Alternative spellings Alternative spellings Alternative spellings Alternative spellings
/ai/ 2Ww.01 /ee/ 2Ww.01 /ie/ 2Ww.01 /oa/ 2Ww.01
main be tie home
tail three pie alone
made leaf like throw
make clean white grow
play these nice toe
say complete light goes
they field bright heroes
eight people kind go
great donkey by so
apron very my envelope
Cambridge Primary English - Budgell & Ruttle © Cambridge University Press 2021 1
CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 2 SPELLING LISTS
Alternative spellings Common words Homophones Words with split
/ue/ 2Ww.01 2Ww.09 2Ww.07 digraphs a-e 2Ww.02
spoon don’t ate eight ate
huge old blew blue came
new by for four game
threw house here hear made
blue about stair stare name
blew some see sea same
grew come some sum face
group across tail tale page
argue mother there their plane
fruit please to two shape
Words with split Words with split Words with split Common irregular
digraphs i-e 2Ww.02 digraphs o-e digraphs u-e plurals 2Ww.04
bike 2Ww.02 2Ww.02 child children
five bone June man men
life hole rude woman women
like home ruler person people
ride joke flute mouse mice
wide nose cube goose geese
nice rope tube tooth teeth
drive close tune foot feet
smile stone use fish fish
slice those cute sheep sheep
clothes huge
Cambridge Primary English - Budgell & Ruttle © Cambridge University Press 2021 2
CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 2 SPELLING LISTS
Rhyming words Alternative spellings Alternative spellings Alternative spellings
2Ww.03 /ar/ 2Ww.01 /or/ 2Ww.01 /ur/ 2Ww.01
whale snail part sport bird
third heard are saw third
your sore father drawer shirt
here ear plant author skirt
saw four class sauce hurt
said head half August burn
there hair calf almost nurse
one fun calm talk learn
put foot aunt four word
knew blue heart caught worse
Alternative spellings Alternative spellings Verbs ending –s Verbs ending –ed
short vowel /oo/ final /l/ 2Ww.01 2Ww.05 and –ing 2Ww.05
2Ww.01 apple sleep sleeps played playing
good middle run runs enjoyed enjoying
wood little put puts opened opening
book candle say says watched watching
stood travel make makes worked working
put metal like likes jumped jumping
push petal give gives washed washing
full hospital have has started starting
could nostril go goes wanted wanting
would petrol do does visited visiting
should
Cambridge Primary English - Budgell & Ruttle © Cambridge University Press 2021 3
CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 2 SPELLING LISTS
Alternative spellings Alternative spellings Alternative spellings Alternative spellings
/oi/ 2Ww.01 /ow/ 2Ww.01 /air/ 2Ww.01 /er/ 2Ww.01
coin out fairy flower
join about hair under
choice cloud square metre
boy found share centre
toy ground there flavour
enjoy how where zebra
annoy now pear theatre
royal fowl bear actor
loyal town wear motor
destroy allow tear caterpillar
Common words Suffixes –ful and –ly Suffixes –er and –est Prefixes un– and dis–
2Ww.09 2Ww.06 2Ww.06 2Ww.06
every careful brighter brightest undo
pretty helpful faster fastest untie
after painful higher highest unlucky
many spoonful hotter hottest undress
their colourful longer longest unfair
listen badly nicer nicest dislike
friends brightly shorter shortest disagree
money carefully stronger strongest disabled
other suddenly taller tallest displease
first quickly wider widest disappear
Cambridge Primary English - Budgell & Ruttle © Cambridge University Press 2021 4
CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 2 SPELLING LISTS
Common words Common words
2Ww.09 2Ww.09
want put
where very
who people
why called
which asked
noise above
voice mother
because baby
before both
important knew
Cambridge Primary English - Budgell & Ruttle © Cambridge University Press 2021 5
