Free Year 5 NAPLAN Spelling Practice Questions

Year 5 NAPLAN spelling tests go beyond simple phonics. Students are tested on more complex word patterns, multi-syllable words, Greek and Latin roots and Australian English conventions. Skillo has hundreds of practice questions, free and ready to go.

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What’s tested in Year 5 NAPLAN Spelling

  • Complex vowel patterns — silent letters and irregular patterns
  • Prefixes and suffixes — dis-, mis-, -tion, -ous, -ly
  • Greek and Latin roots — common word origins
  • Multi-syllable words — breaking words into syllables to spell correctly
  • Homophones and commonly confused words
  • Australian English conventions — colour, organise, defence

Sample questions

Question 1Easy

Choose the correct spelling to complete the sentence: Priya thought the maths problem was really ___.

A) though
B) through
C) tough
D) thought

Answer: The -ough pattern can be pronounced differently in each word. 'Tough' is pronounced /tuf/ and means difficult or hard, which fits the sentence meaning. 'Though' means 'however', 'through' means 'passing across', and 'thought' is past tense of 'think' — none of these match the intended meaning.

Question 2Medium

The students used precise ___ in their science reports to describe their experiments clearly. Which spelling is correct?

A) lenguage
B) language
C) languige
D) languaje

Answer: 'Language' is the correct spelling. It has three syllables: lan-guage. The middle cluster is '-gu-' (not '-gi-' or '-ge-'). Option A ('lenguage') changes the first vowel 'a' to 'e'. Option C ('languige') changes the second vowel 'a' to 'i'. Option D ('languaje') uses 'j' — a Spanish-influenced spelling of the /ʒ/ sound.

Question 3Hard

Scientists ___ feedback from their peers before publishing results. Which spelling is correct?

A) recieve
B) receive
C) receve
D) receeve

Answer: 'Receive' is the correct spelling. It follows the 'i before e except after c' rule: after 'c', the order is 'e' then 'i' — re-ceive. Option A ('recieve') incorrectly uses 'ie' after 'c' instead of 'ei'. Option C ('receve') drops the 'i' entirely. Option D ('receeve') replaces 'i' with an extra 'e'.

How to use Skillo for Year 5 Spelling

  1. Select Year 5 and Spelling on the home screen
  2. Focus on word patterns rather than memorising individual words
  3. Use Quick Practice for regular short sessions
  4. Check the Skill Breakdown to identify your weakest spelling patterns

Skillo is free, requires no email or account details, and is built specifically for Australian students. Every question is mapped to the Australian Curriculum v9.0.

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