School hangman words
82 school words, each with a clue and a difficulty score computed from its spelling. 42 easy, 33 medium, 7 hard.
Average score
3.6
Across all 82 words
Hardest
quiz
Scores 9.5
Easiest
eraser
Scores -2.0
This is the safest category for a mixed-age group. Almost every word is something in the room, so a guesser who is stuck can look around, and the vocabulary is shared across every age in the class.
Difficulty here comes from length rather than rarity. Encyclopedia and kindergarten are long but contain nothing unusual, so they play as medium rather than hard. The genuinely hard entries are short and unexpected, like quiz.
For a lesson rather than a game, this list pairs well with the subject names. Ask the guesser to say what the word means once they have solved it, and the round does double duty.
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Easy school words42
The usual opening guesses cover most of it, so it tends to fall quickly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| algebra | Where the letters started appearing | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| answer | What everyone wants and few check | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| atlas | Maps, bound and out of date | 5 / 4 distinct | 1.2 | Easy |
| attendance | Being there, which counts for more than expected | 10 / 6 distinct | 0.6 | Easy |
| cafeteria | Trays, queues and questionable puddings | 9 / 7 distinct | 0.1 | Easy |
| classroom | Where the desks and the whiteboard live | 9 / 7 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| corridor | No running, ever | 8 / 5 distinct | 1.4 | Easy |
| detention | Staying behind, and not by choice | 9 / 6 distinct | -0.4 | Easy |
| dictionary | Where you check who was right | 10 / 9 distinct | 2.5 | Easy |
| eraser | Undoes the pencil, badly | 6 / 4 distinct | -2.0 | Easy |
| essay | Introduction, argument, conclusion | 5 / 4 distinct | 1.2 | Easy |
| examination | Silence, a clock, and a paper | 11 / 8 distinct | 0.4 | Easy |
| fraction | A part of a whole, written over a line | 8 / 8 distinct | 2.5 | Easy |
| geometry | The mathematics of shape and space | 8 / 7 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| graduation | Hats thrown, finally | 10 / 9 distinct | 1.7 | Easy |
| headmaster | Runs the school and signs the letters | 10 / 8 distinct | 2.2 | Easy |
| history | What happened, and who wrote it down | 7 / 7 distinct | 3.6 | Easy |
| janitor | Keeps the whole building working | 7 / 7 distinct | 1.9 | Easy |
| kindergarten | Where school starts and it is mostly play | 12 / 9 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| laboratory | Goggles on before anything else | 10 / 7 distinct | 1.9 | Easy |
| lecture | One person talking for a long time | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| literature | Reading closely and arguing about it | 10 / 7 distinct | 0.1 | Easy |
| mathematics | Numbers, shapes and proofs | 11 / 8 distinct | 2.9 | Easy |
| microscope | Makes small things large enough to argue about | 10 / 8 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| notebook | Blank until the first week of term | 8 / 6 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| paragraph | One idea, developed | 9 / 5 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| presentation | Standing at the front, hoping the slides work | 12 / 9 distinct | -0.3 | Easy |
| protractor | Half a circle marked in degrees | 10 / 6 distinct | 1.4 | Easy |
| question | The thing worth more than the answer | 8 / 8 distinct | 2.3 | Easy |
| recess | The bell everyone actually waits for | 6 / 4 distinct | 1.0 | Easy |
| report | Grades, plus a sentence from every teacher | 6 / 5 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| revision | Going over it again before the exam | 8 / 7 distinct | 0.7 | Easy |
| ruler | Straight lines and, occasionally, measurements | 5 / 4 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| scissors | Blunt-ended, for very good reason | 8 / 5 distinct | 1.1 | Easy |
| semester | Half a school year | 8 / 5 distinct | 0.1 | Easy |
| seminar | Smaller, and you have to speak | 7 / 7 distinct | 1.0 | Easy |
| sentence | A complete thought with a full stop | 8 / 5 distinct | 0.1 | Easy |
| stapler | Always empty when you need it | 7 / 7 distinct | 3.6 | Easy |
| student | Currently learning something | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.1 | Easy |
| teacher | Explains it a second time, differently | 7 / 6 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| timetable | Tells you where you are supposed to be | 9 / 7 distinct | 2.1 | Easy |
| tutorial | One to one, or nearly | 8 / 7 distinct | 1.1 | Easy |
Medium school words33
You will get a foothold, then have to work out the rest properly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| alphabet | Twenty six letters, in an agreed order | 8 / 7 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| assembly | Everyone in the hall at once | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| binder | Rings that never quite line up | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| biology | The study of living things | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.9 | Medium |
| calculator | Banned in some exams, essential in others | 10 / 7 distinct | 3.9 | Medium |
| chemistry | What things are made of and how they react | 9 / 9 distinct | 5.7 | Medium |
| compass | Draws circles, or finds north | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| curriculum | Everything you are supposed to cover | 10 / 6 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| diploma | The paper that says you finished | 7 / 7 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| encyclopedia | The long answer to almost anything | 12 / 10 distinct | 4.2 | Medium |
| fieldtrip | School, but on a coach | 9 / 8 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| folder | Where paper goes to be lost | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| geography | Rivers, capitals and why places are where they are | 9 / 8 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| globe | The world, spinning on a stand | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.8 | Medium |
| grammar | The rules everybody breaks confidently | 7 / 4 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| gymnasium | Indoor sports, and a very particular smell | 9 / 8 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| highlighter | Turns a page yellow, rarely helps | 11 / 7 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| homework | The part that follows you home | 8 / 7 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| library | Quiet, organised, and full of everything | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
| locker | Small, metal, and full of forgotten things | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| pencil | Wooden, wooden-cased graphite | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| principal | The one you hope not to be sent to | 9 / 7 distinct | 4.1 | Medium |
| principle | A rule of conduct, not the person in the office | 9 / 7 distinct | 4.1 | Medium |
| project | Group work, and someone will do nothing | 7 / 7 distinct | 5.9 | Medium |
| projector | Fan noise, and a slightly crooked image | 9 / 7 distinct | 3.9 | Medium |
| schedule | The plan for the day | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.9 | Medium |
| scholarship | Someone else pays the fees | 11 / 9 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| spelling | Where hangman gets its cruelty | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| subtract | Take one number away from another | 8 / 7 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| textbook | Heavy, expensive, and mostly unopened | 8 / 6 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| uniform | Everyone dressed the same on purpose | 7 / 7 distinct | 3.9 | Medium |
| vocabulary | All the words you actually know | 10 / 9 distinct | 6.2 | Medium |
| whiteboard | The successor, and it squeaks | 10 / 10 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
Hard school words7
Rare letters, few vowels, or almost no repetition for a guesser to lean on.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| backpack | Carries far more than it should | 8 / 5 distinct | 8.6 | Hard |
| chalkboard | Dusty, green or black, and gloriously analogue | 10 / 9 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| lunchbox | The best part of the morning | 8 / 8 distinct | 9.3 | Hard |
| multiply | Repeated addition, done quickly | 8 / 7 distinct | 8.1 | Hard |
| physics | Why things move the way they do | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.1 | Hard |
| playground | Where most of the real learning happens | 10 / 10 distinct | 6.6 | Hard |
| quiz | Short, sharp and often unannounced | 4 / 4 distinct | 9.5 | Hard |
Questions
What are good school words for hangman?
The ones that survive a normal opening. A guesser starts with E, A, R and the other common letters, so a good word is one those letters barely touch. On this page that is the score: 82 school words are listed and 7 of them rate hard.
How many school words are on this list?
82, deduplicated, each with a clue and a computed difficulty score. They split into 42 easy, 33 medium and 7 hard.
What is the hardest word in this category?
QUIZ, at 9.5. The easiest is ERASER at -2.0. Both numbers come from the same formula, which is published in full at hangmanwords.net/how-difficulty-is-scored/.
Can I play these words rather than read them?
Yes. The play link on this page loads a game that draws only from this school list, so every word you get is one of the 82 below.