Memorizing words can be challenging for children, especially when they involve irregular spellings or tricky vowel combinations. Here’s a list of words that some children might find difficult, along with their meanings:
Affect:
To influence or make a change in something.
Effect:
A change that occurred as a result of a particular action or event.
Allude:
To make an indirect reference to something.
Elude:
To escape or avoid, especially in a clever way.
Altar:
A raised platform used for religious ceremonies.
Alter:
To change or modify something.
Bare:
Without covering or adornment.
Bear:
The large mammal or to carry a burden.
Capital:
A city where a seat of government is located or money.
Capitol:
A building where legislative work is conducted.
Complement:
Something that completes or goes well with something.
Compliment:
A nice remark or praise.
Desert:
A dry, barren area of land with little or no vegetation.
Dessert:
The sweet course typically eaten at the end of a meal.
Device:
A tool or machine.
Devise:
To plan or invent a method or course of action.
Principal:
A person who has controlling authority, especially in a school.
Principle:
A fundamental truth or proposition.
Stationary:
Not moving.
Stationery:
Writing materials and office supplies.
Elicit:
To draw out a reaction or information.
Illicit:
Forbidden by law, rules, or custom.
Fair:
Just and unbiased or a public event with amusements and stalls.
Fare:
The money paid for transportation or the performance of a task.
Gorilla:
A large ape species.
Guerrilla:
A member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting.
Hear:
To perceive sound.
Here:
In or at this place.
Idle:
Doing nothing or having no purpose.
Idol:
An image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.
Jewel:
A precious stone or a decorative ornament.
Joule:
A unit of energy.
Kernel:
The softer, usually edible part of a seed, nut, or fruit stone.
Colonel:
A military officer.
Kernel:
The softer, usually edible part of a seed, nut, or fruit stone.
Label:
A small piece of paper, fabric, plastic, or similar material attached to an object and giving information about it.
Libel:
A published false statement that damages a person’s reputation.
Loose:
Not firmly or tightly fixed in place.
Lose:
To be deprived of or cease to have.
Pray:
To address God or a deity with a request for help, an expression of gratitude, or a plea for guidance.
Prey:
An animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.
Profit:
A financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.
Prophet:
A person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.
Rain:
Moisture condensed from the atmosphere that falls visibly in separate drops.
Reign:
Hold royal office; rule as king or queen.
Role:
The function assumed or part played by a person or thing in a particular situation.
Roll:
Move or cause to move in a particular direction by turning over and over on an axis.
Serial:
A story or play appearing in regular installments on television or radio or in a magazine or part-work.
Cereal:
A common breakfast food, typically produced from grain.
Stare:
Look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something with one’s eyes wide open.
Stair:
A series of steps for ascending or descending to a different level.
Stationary:
Not moving.
Stationery:
Writing materials and office supplies.
Tail:
The hindmost part of an animal, especially when extended beyond the rest of the body.
Tale:
A fictitious or true narrative or story, especially one that is imaginatively recounted.
Team:
A group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport.
Teem:
Be full of or swarming with.
Their:
Belonging to or associated with the people or things previously mentioned or easily identified.
There:
In, at, or to that place or position.
They’re:
Contraction of “they are.”
Threw:
Past tense of “throw.”
Through:
Moving in one side and out of the other side of (an opening, channel, or location).
To:
Expressing motion in the direction of (a particular location).
Too:
To a higher degree than is desirable, permissible, or possible.
Two:
Equivalent to the sum of one and one.
Troop:
A group of soldiers or police officers.
Troupe:
A group of dancers, actors, or other performers who tour to different venues.
Vial:
A small container, typically cylindrical and made of glass, used especially for holding liquid medicines.
Vile:
Extremely unpleasant.
Waist:
The part of the human body below the ribs and above the hips.
Waste:
Use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose.
Weather:
The state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
Whether:
Expressing a doubt or choice between alternatives.
Write:
Mark (letters, words, or other symbols) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement.
Right:
Morally good, justified, or acceptable.
Rite:
A religious or other solemn ceremony or act.
Wright:
A worker, especially a constructive worker (e.g., a shipwright or playwright).
Yoke:
A wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull.
Yolk:
The yellow internal part of a bird’s egg.
Your:
Belonging to or associated with the person or people that the speaker is addressing.
You’re:
Contraction of “you are.”
Cite:
To refer to a source or example.
Site:
A location or place.
Sight:
The faculty or power of seeing.
