How it works
Is it definitely or definately, and which letter hides in receipt? These spelling trivia questions and answers run seven rounds, from easy words to British spellings and bee history, with the dictionary entry linked beside each answer.
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Spelling trivia questions for middle schoolers
Which spelling is right and Adding an ending are the rounds for middle schoolers: tomorrow, library, forty, truly, hoping. Silent letters asks which letter hides in island, salmon and Wednesday. Keep Commonly misspelled words for a table that wants millennium and mischievous.
Trivia questions on spelling, beyond the word list
Bees, rules and spelling history asks who paid for a board to simplify English spelling, which president ordered the new spellings into print, and which word won the first national bee. British and American spellings runs from kerb to gaol. Words that sound alike gives a meaning and asks for stationery, capitol or pique.
- Trivia spelling questions work best seen, not heard: pass the phone round or print the questions, since saying a choice aloud hides its spelling.
- For a round read aloud, play Bees, rules and spelling history, where the choices are names, numbers and phrases.
Questions and answers
What are some good spelling trivia questions?
Which letter is silent in salmon? Which word has three double letters in a row? Which flower name won the first National Spelling Bee in 1925? The answers are the l, bookkeeper and gladiolus.
What are the most commonly misspelled words?
Accommodate, embarrass, occurrence, privilege, cemetery and misspell itself are all in the round Commonly misspelled words. Under accommodate the dictionary prints the usual slips: accomodate, accomadate, accomidate and accomdate.
Why does English have silent letters?
Some were once sounded: the final e of ride fell silent in late Middle English or soon after. Others were written in later. The s of island was added in the 16th century under the influence of isle, and colonel was respelled to match Italian.
Is it grey or gray?
Both are accepted. Gray is more frequent in American English, and grey is preferred in Canada, the UK and elsewhere. The round British and American spellings has more pairs of this kind, such as tire and tyre.
How were the spellings checked?
Each right spelling is printed in its Merriam-Webster entry, linked beside the answer and read on October 12, 2026. Thirteen questions on history and usage link Wikipedia. Where the dictionary accepts a second form, as with judgement, the answer says so.