Year 2 Spelling Words
Year 2 builds on the phonics knowledge from Year 1. Children are expected to spell a further set of common exception words by the end of KS1, including words like because, beautiful, find, kind, children, and wild.
By the end of Year 2, children sit the Key Stage 1 assessments. Strong spelling supports reading comprehension and written work across every subject.
The full Year 2 word list
Common exception words · National Curriculum (England)
- door
- floor
- poor
- because
- find
- kind
- mind
- behind
- child
- children
- wild
- climb
- most
- only
- both
- old
- cold
- gold
- hold
- told
- every
- everybody
- even
- great
- break
- steak
- pretty
- beautiful
- after
- fast
- last
- past
- father
- class
- grass
- pass
- plant
- path
- bath
- hour
- move
- prove
- improve
- sure
- sugar
- eye
- could
- should
- would
- who
- whole
- any
- many
- clothes
- busy
- people
- water
- again
- half
- money
- Mr
- Mrs
- parents
- Christmas
Source: National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, Department for Education.
The Year 2 words children miss most
These are the Year 2 words children get wrong most often when they practise on Spelling.Live, with the mistake they usually make and a way to remember the right spelling.
| Word | Missed | Common mistake | How to remember it |
|---|---|---|---|
| because | 27% | beceuse | Say it the funny way: be-cause. Or: Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants. |
| people | 25% | peopal, peoplle | The middle is eo, and it ends like apple and table: -le. |
| beautiful | 23% | - | beauty + ful: the y changes to i, and ful has one l. |
| poor | 11% | - | Poor, door and floor all end in oor. |
| money | 10% | monney | One n, then ey at the end, like honey. |
"Missed" is the share of practice attempts that were wrong, across children practising on Spelling.Live (April to September 2026). Only words practised by at least 10 children are shown, and a common mistake is only listed when at least 3 different children made it. Games are not counted.
📥 Free printable paper-practice sheet
Download a clean, ready-to-print Year 2 sheet (10 words a page) built for look, cover, write, check. Your child writes each word, then you snap a photo in the Spelling.Live app - Paper practice reads the sheet, marks it, and brings tricky words back automatically.
🖨️ Open printable sheet (PDF)Opens a print-ready page - choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog to keep a copy, or send it straight to your printer.
Practise the whole list on the app
Year 2 is built in as a ready-made list on Spelling.Live, so there's no typing. Your child hears each word, writes it by hand on screen, and gets instant, encouraging feedback.
- Open your child's profile and tap Word Lists.
- Tap Browse Preset Lists and choose the KS1 tab.
- Add Year 2 - Everyday Words (or Tricky Spellings) and start practising.
New: Paper practice
Prefer pen and paper? Let your child do the worksheet by hand, then snap a photo of the finished sheet. Spelling.Live reads the ticks and crosses, records which words were right, and feeds the misspelled ones back into practice automatically - and it can even check letter formation. The best of paper and screen, with AI-assisted marking.
For teachers: run this list with your class
Schools are using Spelling.Live for short whole-class sessions on school devices, small-group spelling interventions and early years handwriting practice. Assign the Year 2 common exception words to a class, pupils sign in with a printed label, and every answer is marked and reported for you - no marking, and you see which words and spelling rules are catching the class out.
See how schools are using it - and pilot it free with one class for six weeks.
Year 2 spelling: common questions
How many words are on the Year 2 spelling list?
About 64 common exception words, including because, beautiful, people, could and would. Children are expected to spell them by the end of Key Stage 1.
Which Year 2 words do children find hardest?
On Spelling.Live, because, people and beautiful are missed most often, each in around a quarter of practice attempts. The common mistakes are beceuse, peopal and monney.
Do Year 2 children still sit a spelling test?
The statutory Key Stage 1 spelling, punctuation and grammar test became optional from 2023, but most schools still run weekly spelling tests and assess spelling through children's writing.
Should Year 2 children write or type their spellings?
Mostly write. Spelling is assessed in handwriting, so practise writing the words, on paper or on a tablet with a finger or stylus, as well as any typing.
Can I print the Year 2 list?
Yes. The free printable sheet above has every word, 10 words a page, for look, cover, write, check.
A ready-made weekly plan practises them - handwriting, word games, paper practice, and instant feedback. All aligned to the National Curriculum, free to start.
Start practising freeMore National Curriculum lists: Reception · Year 1 · Year 3 & 4 · Year 4 & 5 · Year 5 & 6 Read more: KS1 common exception words guide · Paper practice explained Browse all free spelling resources →