Sight words Word Search
This sight words word search hides words like about, after, again to find. Play it free online or print the PDF with the answer key, a handy sight words vocabulary activity.
10 words · 11×11 grid · Medium · Answer key included · Free printable PDF
Tap the first and last letter of a word — or use arrow keys and Enter. Dragging works too.
- ABOUT
- AFTER
- AGAIN
- COULD
- EVERY
- FIRST
- FOUND
- GREAT
- HOUSE
- LIGHT
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Did you know?
- about
- This word is one of Dolch's 220 service words: learners memorize it by sight because sounding out the soft start rarely helps.
- after
- The bare form works as preposition, conjunction, and adverb at once, so learners confuse it with afterward and afterwards.
- again
- Two pronunciations are both standard and widely used: it can rhyme with rain or, just as correctly, with hen.
- could
- It never had an L: the letter was added around 1500 only to match would and should, so it stays silent.
- every
- Though it feels plural, it takes a singular verb: we say every child is, never every child are.
- first
- Like girl and bird, the i plus r makes one slippery sound that defeats letter-by-letter sounding out.
- found
- This is the irregular past of find, not the verb to found (to establish); learners often mix the two up.
- great
- It looks like it should rhyme with eat or treat, but this stubborn spelling rhymes with late and gate instead.
- house
- As a noun its s hisses, but as a verb the same s buzzes like a z, no spelling change.
- light
- The silent gh once stood for a throaty sound still heard in German licht; English kept the spelling but dropped the rasp.
- never
- A double negative like I never did nothing is nonstandard in English; one negative is enough to carry the meaning.
- other
- It rarely stands alone: learners pair it with the other, each other, or another, where the and an fuse right onto it.
- right
- One spelling carries four meanings: correct, a direction, an entitlement, and a synonym for very, as in right away.
- their
- Borrowed from Old Norse in the Viking age, this possessive replaced an older English word and now trips up writers everywhere.
- would
- Its L is silent like in could and should; learners hear wood and often add a stray d by mistake.
Trivia
Educator Edward Dolch published a famous 1936 list of words children should know on sight. About how many words were on it?
220 service words (plus 95 nouns).
Words like light, night, and right share a silent letter pair that once spelled a throaty sound. Which two letters?
The letters gh.
The words they, them, and their were borrowed into English from which language family during the Viking age?
Old Norse (Scandinavian).
In could, would, and should, which letter is written but never pronounced?
The letter L.
What name do teachers give to common words learners memorize instantly instead of sounding out letter by letter?
Sight words (or high-frequency words).
In their words
Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.
Emilie Buchwald
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
Dr. Seuss
Is this sight words word search free to print?
This sight words word search is a free printable puzzle with 10 hidden words in an 11×11 grid. Find words like ABOUT, AFTER, AGAIN hidden across, down, and diagonally. You can play it right here in your browser — tap the first and last letter of a word — or download it as a printable PDF with the full answer key on page two. It's free for personal and classroom use, so teachers can print copies for a whole class with no sign-up and no account. Word searches like this one are a proven way to build vocabulary, spelling, and word-shape recognition, which is why they're a favourite with ESL learners, elementary classrooms, and anyone who likes a quiet puzzle with their coffee.
Print this Sight words word search
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Brought is the past of bring, while bought is the past of buy — easily confused but never interchangeable.
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Happy comes from the old word hap, meaning luck, the same root inside happen, perhaps, and mishap.
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Between traces to Old English meaning by the two, so its hidden core is the number two.
Play →or printSources: Dolch word list (Wikipedia) · Mary Walker, the nation's oldest student · Kimani Maruge (Wikipedia) · Why the L is silent in could, would, should (Merriam-Webster)
Word list, facts & trivia researched and compiled by Sam Letterman — spotted a mistake? Tell us and we’ll fix it.