Free Printable Spelling Bingo Cards (Grades 2–3 Word List)

Weekly spelling tests rely on memory, but bingo gets students looking at the shape of words in a way worksheets don’t. In this version, the teacher never says the word. Instead, they spell it, and students have to put the letters together and find the match on their card. Words like “through”, “thought” and “brought” look alike, so kids have to read carefully.

The 50 words here are common trouble spots for second and third graders, including homophones like there/their and right/write.

How do you play spelling bingo?

The teacher spells a word aloud; students identify it and cover it.

1. Print one card per student from the generator at the top of this page.
2. Use the word list at the bottom of this page as your calling sheet.
3. Spell one word slowly and clearly: “T-H-R-O-U-G-H.” Repeat it once.
4. Students figure out the word, find it and cover it.
5. Check the word off your list. Do not say it aloud yet; let students work it out.
6. The first student with five in a row calls “Bingo!” and must spell each of their five words aloud to win.

The center square is free.

How many spelling bingo cards do I need?

One per student plus a few spares. A class of 25 needs about 28 cards. Every card is shuffled, so classmates have different words in different places.

Variations for different levels

• Say it, don’t spell it. For struggling spellers, say the word and use it in a sentence. Students find it by reading.
• Write-it bingo. Students write the word on a whiteboard before covering it, so you can see who spelled it correctly.
• Missing letter calls. Spell the word with a blank: “B-E-_-A-U-S-E.” Students identify the word and name the missing letter.
• Homophone challenge. Use the word in a sentence (“Put it over there”) and spell nothing. Students must choose between “there” and “their”.
• Weekly list. Use the custom bingo card generator to make cards from your own spelling list.
• Blackout review. Before a spelling test, play a blackout round.

Tips for teachers

• Spell at a steady pace. Pause slightly between letters so students can keep up.
• Write the letters on the board for students who need visual support, then erase before the next call.
• Let students be callers. A student spelling words aloud gets twice the practice.
• Celebrate accuracy. Give credit to anyone who spells their whole row back correctly, not just the first to bingo.

For classroom management tips that work with any bingo game, see our guide to bingo for kids in the classroom.

Prize ideas

Spelling bingo winners can earn a “skip one word” pass on the next spelling test, a fun pencil, a bookmark, a sticker or the honor of choosing the class read-aloud. More ideas are in our bingo prize ideas guide.

Pair it with other reading games

Students who are still building basic reading skills can start with our sight word bingo cards, based on the Dolch Primer list. For the start of the year, our back to school bingo cards cover classroom vocabulary.