5th Grade spelling
5th Grade Words Ending in Ary, Ery and Ory
Words ending in ary, ery and ory: library, secretary, history, memory, delivery. Play hangman with the list or print a spelling worksheet with answers.
Read the spelling list
The pattern: Three endings that often sound alike in American English. Grouping them helps with the vowel you cannot hear.
The endings ary, ery and ory are often pronounced almost alike in American English, with a weak vowel before the r. That vowel is where the spelling lives, and a listener cannot tell it from sound. The result is some of the classic school misspellings, such as libary for library or history written histery.
The list is split into three groups. The ary group includes secretary, necessary, primary, library, anniversary, ordinary, temporary and elementary. The ery group includes surgery, delivery, recovery, battery, gallery, discovery, mystery and grocery. The ory group includes history, memory, victory, territory, category, factory and laboratory. Fifth graders have already met most of them in speech, so the work is to pair each one with its spelling. Grouping by ending is what makes the pattern visible.
36 entries. Our solver needed 1.4 wrong guesses on average: 20 easy, 16 medium and 0 hard. The toughest is summary (3 misses), the quickest secretary (0).
-ary
- secretary Easy · 0
- necessary Easy · 1
- primary Medium · 2
- library Easy · 1
- anniversary Easy · 0
- secondary Easy · 1
- contemporary Easy · 1
- temporary Easy · 1
- ordinary Easy · 1
- summary Medium · 3
- salary Medium · 2
- elementary Easy · 0
-ery
- surgery Medium · 2
- delivery Easy · 1
- recovery Easy · 1
- battery Medium · 2
- gallery Medium · 2
- discovery Easy · 0
- mystery Easy · 1
- grocery Medium · 3
- machinery Easy · 1
- robbery Medium · 3
- misery Easy · 0
- nursery Easy · 1
-ory
- history Medium · 2
- memory Medium · 2
- victory Medium · 3
- territory Easy · 0
- category Easy · 0
- factory Medium · 3
- laboratory Medium · 2
- regulatory Medium · 2
- advisory Medium · 2
- inventory Easy · 1
- mandatory Medium · 2
- directory Easy · 1
Words worth a closer look
- libraryThe most dropped r in school spelling: li-brar-y, not li-bary.
- necessaryOne c and two s: the shape of the word is the memory hook.
- historyEnds in ory, though in speech it sounds like histry. Say it with all three syllables.
- recoveryRecover plus y: ery, from the verb. Not recovary.
- laboratoryFive syllables. Students often write labratory, and in speech many people say it that way.
Teaching it
Teach two memory hooks. Ary is the most common ending, so it is the default for a long word you are unsure of. Ery often follows a verb, as in deliver or discover. These are tendencies, not laws, so keep the groups on the board and treat ory words such as history and factory as ones to learn. The usual mistake is dropping the r (libary) or swapping the vowel, as in histary.
For hangman, ask players to guess whether the word ends in ary, ery or ory once most of the letters are visible. Print the worksheet and have students sort the words into three columns, then circle the vowel they cannot hear.
Print a 5th Grade Words Ending in Ary, Ery and Ory worksheet
Eight puzzles on one US Letter page, with a clue, letter blanks, an empty frame to draw in, an alphabet strip to cross off and circles to count misses. Page two is the answer key.
Need another sheet?
Draw eight different words from this list, right here. Same layout, new answer key.
Keep going
- 5th Grade Latin Roots Port, Spect and TractLatin roots port (carry), spect (look) and tract (pull) in transport, respect, attract and more. Play hangman or print a worksheet.
- 5th Grade Latin Roots Dict, Rupt and StructLatin roots dict (say), rupt (break) and struct (build) in predict, interrupt, structure and more. Play hangman or print a worksheet.
- 5th Grade Greek Roots Graph, Phon and TeleGreek roots graph (write), phon (sound) and tele (far) in photograph, telephone, telescope and more. Play hangman or print a worksheet.
- 5th Grade Greek Roots Bio, Auto and MicroGreek roots bio (life), auto (self) and micro (small): biology, automatic, microscope and more. Play hangman or print a spelling worksheet.
- 5th Grade Words Ending in Ance and EnceSort words ending in ance and ence: performance, distance, science, difference. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with answers.
- 5th Grade Words Ending in Ant and EntWords ending in ant and ent: important, different, assistant, excellent, accident. Play hangman with the list or print a worksheet with answers.