CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 3 SPELLING LISTS
Spelling lists
How to use the spelling lists
These spelling lists are supplementary to the spelling spreads at the back of the
Learner’s Book. This teaching resource can be used at your discretion.
There are 20 lists, with ten words per list, each following a particular letter pattern or
spelling rule. They are not organised as lists to be learnt 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 words as a learning or
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.
Revise Homophones Polysyllabic Irregular Irregular
common with different words consonants /g/, consonants /c/,
exception spellings of long 3Ww.05 /ge/, /dge/, /y/ /ch/, /k/, /ck/
words vowel sounds 3Ww.01 3Ww.01
2Ww.08 3Ww.04
goes right – write answer myth school
colour new – knew address giant anchor
learn no – know perhaps pyramid silky
does medal – meddle island imagine wreck
minute flower – flour quarter danger cook
often knight – night perhaps Egypt monarch
early wait – weight history type chicken
build bear – bare question strange blink
again ate – eight remember huge echo
fruit our – hour experiment edge character
Cambridge Primary English 3 – Hume © Cambridge University Press 2021 1
CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 3 SPELLING LISTS
Adding –ing, Irregular words Suffixes –ation Prefixes un–, Adding –ing,
–ed and –s after when adding – and –ion dis– and mis– –ed and –s
e in regular ing, –ed and –s 3Ww.03 3Ww.03 3Wg.07
words 3Ww.02
3Ww.02
hope – hoping come – coming action unwell watch –
– hoped – – came – watching –
creation unlucky
hopes comes watched –
addition disagree watches
talk – talking – ride – riding –
talked – talks rode – rides fraction dislike hop – hopping
– hopped –
enjoy – swim – position mislead
hops
enjoying – swimming – eruption mistake
enjoyed – swam – swims do – doing – did
enjoys subtraction unable – does
fly – flying –
smile – smiling flew – flies education unfasten begin –
– smiled – invention discover beginning –
have – having
smiles began – begins
– had – has vibration disappear
ask – asking – use – using –
run – running –
asked – asks used – uses
ran – runs
jump – jumping sleep – sleeping
give – giving –
– jumped – – slept – sleeps
gave – gives
jumps
ring – ringing –
eat – eating –
love – loving – rang – rings
ate – eats
loved – loves
breath –
buy – buying –
hate – hating – breathing –
bought – buys
hated – hates breathed –
try – trying – breathes
step – stepping
tried – tries
– stepped – bring – bringing
steps – brought –
brings
close – closing
– closed – catch – catching
closes – caught –
catches
Cambridge Primary English 3 – Hume © Cambridge University Press 2021 2
CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 3 SPELLING LISTS
Polysyllabic Common ou that sounds Homophones Compound
words exception like u 3Ww.04 words
3Ww.05 words 3Rw.01 3Ww.04
3Ww.05
favourite circle young past – passed anyonpe
surprise centre touch guest – guessed everywhere
difficult guard rough disgust – nothing
discussed
continue build enough meanwhile
cheep – cheap
separate heart country without
steel – steal
material century couple somebody
wail – whale
important group double afterwards
waist – waste
interest busy trouble nevertheless
vain – vane
actually earth courage sometimes
mist – missed
difficult thought encourage furthermore
beech – beach
Suffixes –ment Suffixes –ful Suffixes –ly and Prefixes un– Irregular plurals
and –ness and –less –ous dis– and mis– 3Ww.02
3Ww.03 3Ww.03 3Ww.03 3Ww.03
enjoyment fearless brightly dismiss child – children
amazement beautiful enormous disobey mouse – mice
illness careless curious misfortune watch – watches
kindness thankful quietly unfair roof / roofs
argument sleepless dangerous unhappy person – people
excitement powerful bravely dishonest tooth – teeth
measurement harmless famous dislike fish – fish
foolishness dreadful angrily unnecessary foot – feet
entertainment useless happily unusual leaf – leaves
happiness painful mostly mismanage man – men
Cambridge Primary English 3 – Hume © Cambridge University Press 2021 3
