5th Grade Word Ladders
Five-letter words, 100 printable ladders
Fifth grade word ladders use five-letter words and the most demanding clues in the series. More than a third of the clues give two meanings for one word, like "A small front porch, or to bend low," so students weigh which meaning fits the ladder. Store becomes score, then shore, then chore.
What's in the 5th grade pack
- 100 word ladders on 50 student pages, two to a page
- A clue under every step
- Four levels that ask students to write 2, 3, 4, then 5 words
- Standard and Assisted versions; the Assisted arrows point to the letter box that changes
- Teacher directions with a worked example
- An answer key for all 100 ladders
- Black and white pages that photocopy cleanly
Try a 5th grade word ladder
This is ladder 45 from the 5th grade pack. Read each clue, change one letter, and climb from smart to scarf. It prints free just below, and the free sampler has a page from every grade.
- smartStart here.
- a 5-letter wordThe opening moment of anything.
- a 5-letter wordA long, fixed look.
- a 5-letter wordA sudden fright.
- scarfA neck wrap for cold weather.
Show the answers
smart, start, stare, scare, scarf
Free printable
Free 5th grade word ladders to print
Here's a real page from the 5th grade pack to print free: the ladder above plus one more, story to slope, in Standard and Assisted versions with the answer key. No sign-up, no account.
Prefer to keep it in your TpT library? Get it free on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Terms of use: Free to print and use with your own students. Please share a link to this page rather than the PDF files. Not for resale.
How the 5th grade pack climbs
Every ladder in the pack uses five-letter words. What grows is the number of words students write.
| Level | Pages | Students write |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Pages 3 to 14 | 2 words |
| Level 2 | Pages 15 to 28 | 3 words |
| Level 3 | Pages 29 to 42 | 4 words, top word only |
| Level 4 | Pages 43 to 52 | 5 words, top word only |
From Level 3 on, the bottom word is left blank too, so students can't work backward from it. They read every clue all the way down.
5th grade Halloween word ladders
The Halloween and fall pack keeps the same routine with a seasonal theme: 50 ladders on 25 pages, the same four levels, Standard and Assisted versions, and an answer key. Its worked example climbs stars, stare, share, shade. To try one first, the free Halloween sampler has a page from this grade.
5th grade winter word ladders
For December through February, the winter pack keeps the same routine with a winter theme rather than a holiday one: 50 ladders on 25 pages, the same four levels, Standard and Assisted versions, and an answer key. Its worked example climbs skate, state, stare, stars, with stars on long winter nights. More in Winter Word Ladders for Grades 1 to 5.
5th grade prefix and suffix word ladders
For word-part practice, the prefix and suffix pack climbs by morphology instead of letters: at each step, students add, remove, or swap one prefix or suffix. It works with six prefixes and nine suffixes across 32 ladders on four levels, with Standard and Assisted versions and an answer key. Its worked example climbs thought, thoughtful, thoughtfully, thoughtfulness. All three grades are on the prefix and suffix word ladders page.
Teaching more than one grade, or want room to move up or down a level? The Grades 1 to 5 bundle has all five packs, 500 ladders in all, for less than the price of four. Want the seasonal sets too? The Word Ladders MEGA Bundle has all 19 word ladder packs, 1,100+ ladders in all.
Other grades: 1st grade · 2nd grade · 3rd grade · 4th grade. Every set, including Halloween and winter, is on the word ladders page.