Spelling Words for 4th Graders

A complete list of spelling words for 4th graders — our 4th grade spelling words list pairs every word with a kid-friendly definition and example sentence, so children learn what each word means, not just how to spell it. These are the words a typical 4th grader covers across the school year, grouped into weekly sets you can print. Words are split into 5 sets of about 15 — assign one set a week. Each set has its own printables built from that set’s words: a word list (with definitions and example sentences), a word search, flashcards, and a fill-in-the-blank worksheet.

Suffixes -tion and -sion

15 words
action
the process of doing something
“The superhero jumped into action to save the falling child.”
station
a place where people stop or work
“We waited at the train station for our grandmother to arrive.”
motion
the act of moving from place to place
“The rocking motion of the boat made me sleepy.”
vacation
time away from school or work for fun
“We spent our summer vacation at the sunny beach.”
division
splitting a number into equal groups
“Our teacher taught us long division in math class today.”
mission
an important job someone is sent to do
“The astronauts trained hard for their space mission.”
question
something you ask to learn an answer
“I raised my hand to ask the teacher a question.”
attention
careful thinking or watching of something
“Please pay attention while I explain the new rules.”
celebration
a happy party for a special event
“We had a big celebration for my sister's birthday.”
invention
a new thing someone makes for the first time
“The light bulb was a famous invention by Edison.”
direction
the way something faces or moves
“Follow the arrow's direction to find the exit.”
education
learning knowledge and skills at school
“A good education helps you reach your future goals.”
decision
a choice you make after thinking
“Choosing which book to read was a hard decision.”
television
a screen that shows shows and movies
“We watched cartoons on the television after dinner.”
explosion
a sudden loud burst with great force
“The fireworks ended with a huge explosion of color.”

Prefixes

15 words
unhappy
feeling sad or not glad about something
“She felt unhappy when her best friend moved to another city.”
replay
to play something again from the start
“We watched the replay to see who scored the goal.”
preview
a look at something before it fully happens
“The movie preview made everyone want to buy tickets.”
disagree
to have a different opinion from someone
“My brother and I disagree about which game is best.”
mistake
something done wrong by accident
“I made a mistake and added the numbers incorrectly.”
rewrite
to write something again to make it better
“The teacher asked me to rewrite my messy paragraph.”
unable
not able to do something
“He was unable to open the tightly sealed jar.”
discover
to find or learn something for the first time
“We hope to discover a hidden trail in the forest.”
unkind
not nice or friendly to others
“It was unkind to laugh at his silly drawing.”
refill
to fill something up again
“Please refill my water bottle before we leave for practice.”
prepay
to pay for something before you get it
“We had to prepay for the tickets online last night.”
dislike
to not enjoy or like something
“I really dislike the taste of cold, mushy peas.”
misplace
to put something where you cannot find it
“I always misplace my keys somewhere in the messy house.”
unlock
to open something that was locked
“Use this key to unlock the front door quietly.”
return
to come back or give something back
“I will return the library books before they are late.”

Tricky vowel patterns

15 words
caught
grabbed or captured something while it was moving
“She caught the ball before it hit the ground.”
thought
an idea formed in your mind
“I thought about my answer before raising my hand.”
brought
carried something with you to a place
“He brought his lunch and a snack to school.”
weigh
to measure how heavy something is
“Please weigh the apples before you buy them.”
eight
the number after seven
“There are eight crayons left inside the box.”
height
how tall something or someone is
“The doctor measured my height at every checkup.”
eighth
coming after the seventh in order
“She finished eighth in the big running race.”
neighbor
a person who lives near you
“Our friendly neighbor waved while walking her dog.”
taught
gave someone lessons or showed how to do something
“My grandma taught me how to bake cookies.”
daughter
a girl child of her parents
“The proud father hugged his happy daughter tightly.”
through
in one side and out the other
“We walked through the tunnel to reach the park.”
rough
having a bumpy or uneven surface
“The tree bark felt rough against my hand.”
cough
to push air noisily out of your throat
“She began to cough after breathing dusty air.”
sleigh
a sled pulled by animals over snow
“The horses pulled the sleigh across the snowy field.”
receive
to get or take something given to you
“I will receive a prize for finishing the project.”

Homophones

15 words
there
in that place or spot
“Please put your backpack over there by the door.”
their
belonging to those people
“The students raised their hands to answer the question.”
your
belonging to you
“Don't forget to bring your lunch to school tomorrow.”
youre
short way to say you are
“If youre ready, we can start the game now.”
principal
the leader of a school
“The principal welcomed everyone on the first day of school.”
principle
a rule or belief you follow
“Honesty is an important principle in our classroom.”
weather
how it feels outside, like rain or sun
“The weather was sunny, so we played outside all afternoon.”
whether
if one thing or another is true
“I can't decide whether to read or draw first.”
hear
to take in sound with your ears
“I can hear the birds singing outside my window.”
here
in this place or spot
“Come here and sit next to me on the rug.”
flour
powder used to bake bread and cakes
“We added flour to the bowl to make cookies.”
flower
the colorful part of a plant
“She picked a bright yellow flower from the garden.”
knight
a warrior in armor from long ago
“The brave knight rode his horse to the castle.”
night
the dark time after the sun sets
“We saw many stars in the sky last night.”
pair
two things that go together
“I bought a new pair of shoes for gym class.”

Academic vocabulary

15 words
describe
to tell what something is like using details
“Please describe your favorite animal so we can draw it.”
decide
to make a choice after thinking about it
“I need to decide which book to read tonight.”
measure
to find the size, length, or amount of something
“We will measure the desk with a long ruler.”
address
the place where someone lives or gets mail
“Write your address clearly on the top envelope.”
calendar
a chart showing days, weeks, and months
“I marked my birthday on the classroom calendar today.”
remember
to keep something in your mind and recall it
“Try to remember the answers for tomorrow's spelling test.”
sentence
a group of words that shares a complete thought
“Write one sentence about what you did this weekend.”
probably
most likely to happen or be true
“It will probably rain, so bring your umbrella.”
predict
to guess what will happen before it does
“Scientists can predict the weather using special tools.”
compare
to look at how things are alike or different
“Let's compare these two shapes and list their differences.”
explain
to make something clear so others understand
“Can you explain how you solved this math problem?”
observe
to watch something carefully to learn about it
“We observe the caterpillar changing inside its glass jar.”
summarize
to retell only the most important parts
“Please summarize the story in three short sentences.”
evidence
facts that show something is true
“The muddy footprints are evidence that someone walked here.”
estimate
to make a smart guess about an amount
“Estimate how many jellybeans are inside the big jar.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What spelling skills do 4th graders learn?

Fourth graders work on prefixes and suffixes, multisyllable words, homophones (there/their, your/you're), tricky vowel patterns like -ough and -eigh, and academic vocabulary.

Why are homophones on the 4th grade spelling list?

Homophones such as there/their and your/you're sound the same but are spelled differently, so fourth graders learn to choose the correct spelling by meaning, not just sound.

Do these 4th grade spelling words come with definitions?

Yes — every word on the list has a kid-friendly definition and an example sentence, so 4th graders learn what each word means, not just how to spell it. They appear on the printable Word List and on the flashcards.

Can I use these for a classroom spelling bee?

They work well for an informal classroom or grade-level spelling bee — read each word aloud and have students spell it, using the definition and example sentence as clues. (Official events like the Scripps National Spelling Bee use their own, more advanced word lists.)

More spelling word lists

2nd Grade Spelling Words  ·  3rd Grade Spelling Words  ·  5th Grade Spelling Words  ·  6th Grade Spelling Words

For the sound patterns behind these words, see our phonics worksheets; for high-frequency reading words, see sight words.