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Can You Pass This Quiz of 4th Grade Spelling Words?

No peeking at a dictionary—or Google!

1 / 28
describes deeply held valuePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these words describes a deeply held value or unbreakable rule?

A. Principle

B. Princeple

C. Principal

2 / 28
principlePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Principle

Although C. is spelled correctly, it has another definition entirely. For example, cheating on a test of 4th grade spelling words might get you sent to the principal‘s office.

3 / 28
boston is the ____ of MAPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which word goes here? “Boston is the ____ of Massachusetts.”

A. Capital

B. Capitle

C. Capitol

4 / 28
capitalPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Capital

Provinces and states have “capital” cities, and countries have “capitals,” but U.S. legislators meet in “capitol” buildings.

Here are 19 words you never realized are the same forwards and backwards.

5 / 28
means permittedPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of the following means “permitted” or “able to”?

A. Aloud

B. Allowed

C. Allowde

6 / 28
allowedPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

B. Allowed

It might sound identical to “allowed,” but “aloud” actually means the same thing as “out loud.” For example, “I’m not allowed to play my music aloud when my baby brother is sleeping, so I use headphones.”

Discover the surprising health benefits of reading aloud.

7 / 28
kind praising statement someone makes to someone elsePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of the following is a kind, praising statement someone makes to someone else?

A. Compliment

B. Complement

C. Complament

8 / 28
complimentPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Compliment

A “complement” is something that completes or increases the value of something else. “Complament” isn’t a word at all, but you might think it is because of the way most people pronounce the word.

Find out the reason there’s an “r” in Mrs.

9 / 28
describing noticeable change or resultPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these words is a noun describing a noticeable change or result?

A. Effect

B. Affect

C. Efect

10 / 28
effectPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Effect

“Affect” is a verb meaning to produce a change or—you guessed it—an effect. To make matters more confusing, “affect” can also be a noun meaning a subtle display of emotion.

Memorize the best Scrabble words for a competitive edge at your next game night.

11 / 28
i got all right ___ this onePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which word goes here: “I got all these 4th grade spelling words right ___ for this one.”

A. Except

B. Accept

C. Ecxept

12 / 28
exceptPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Except

“Accept” is a verb meaning “to allow or agree to,” while “except” is a preposition meaning “with the exclusion of.” In that way, their meanings are somewhat opposite! When you’re trying to figure out which to use, ask yourself if you’re “allowing” or “excluding.”

More of a history buff? Here are 15 history questions people always get wrong.

13 / 28
which means to get or take into your posessionPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these words means “to get or take into your possession”?

A. Recieve

B. Receive

C. Reiceive

14 / 28
receivePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

B. Receive

This is one of the words that that old “I before E except after C” rule was created for.

Test your knowledge of these ocean words.

15 / 28
means experiencing shamePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these words means “experiencing shame or humiliation”?

A. Embarrassed

B. Embarassed

C. Embarrased

16 / 28
embarrassedPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Embarrassed

Here’s a rule for spelling “embarrassed”—when in doubt, use double letters!

Here’s why the plural of moose isn’t meese.

17 / 28
means engaged or curiousPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these words means “engaged or curious”?

A. Intrested

B. Interrested

C. Interested

18 / 28
interestedPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

C. Interested

If you’re interested in spelling, see if you can answer these real Jeopardy! questions about words.

19 / 28
means to misplacePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of the following means “to misplace or forget the whereabouts of” (or “to come off worse in a competition”)?

A. Loose

B. Lose

C. Louse

20 / 28
losePhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

B. Lose

No, you can’t “loose” your keys. But if you set your dog loose, you might lose him.

Having trouble deciphering a DM? Don’t miss our ultimate guide to text abbreviations.

21 / 28
when you go to the gymPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

When you go to the gym, which of the following are you doing?

A. Exercising

B. Excercising

C. Exorcising

22 / 28
exercisingPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Exercising

Hopefully, you’re not encountering any demons at the gym, as that’s the only time you would use the homophone “exorcising.”

Put your knowledge of health lingo to the test with our medical trivia quiz.

23 / 28
means essentialPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these words means “essential” or “required”?

A. Nesessary

B. Nessecary

C. Necessary

24 / 28
necessaryPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

C. Necessary

C’s and double-S’s make the same sound in “necessary,” making it a tricky word to spell!

Put your vocabulary to the test with our tricky Word Power quiz.

25 / 28
used when you talk about a topic of conversationPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these do you do when you talk about a topic of conversation or consideration?

A. Discuss

B. Disscuss

C. Discus

26 / 28
discussPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

A. Discuss

If Choice C also looked familiar, that’s because “discus” is a disk-throwing track-and-field event.

You don’t have to be a word nerd to find these grammar jokes hilarious.

27 / 28
means absolutelyPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

Which of these words means “indisputably” or “absolutely”?

A. Definetely

B. Definitely

C. Definately

28 / 28
definitelyPhoto: Nicole Fornabaio/RD.com

B. Definitely

As in, if you got more than 10 of these questions right, you’re definitely a master speller!

Officially feeling smarter than a fourth grader? See if you can pass this quiz of 4th grade science questions.

Reader's Digest
Originally Published on Reader's Digest