60 cards

Hard Sight Words: the Ones Children Mix Up, on Cards

Read the word, turn the card for a sentence only that word fits, then print the set.

went

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Next step Pick which look-alike fits a sentence More words that sound the same

All 60 words

Look-alikes 20

form form: not from. In form the o comes before the r, as in for.
from from: not form. In from the r comes before the o.
how how: not who. How starts with h. Rhymes with now and cow.
of of: not off. Of has one f, and that f says /v/.
off off: not of. Off has two f's, and they say /f/.
quiet quiet: not quite. Quiet ends e-t and has two beats: qui-et.
quite quite: not quiet. Quite ends t-e and has one beat. Rhymes with white.
saw saw: not was. Saw starts with s. Rhymes with paw and law.
than than: not then. Than has an a and compares. Rhymes with can.
then then: not than. Then has an e and tells when. Rhymes with ten.
though though: not through or thought. No r, no last t. Rhymes with go and so.
thought thought: not though. Thought ends in t. Rhymes with caught.
through through: not though. Through has an r. Rhymes with blue and two.
want want: not went. Want has an a, which says /o/, as in on.
was was: not saw. Was starts with w, and its s says /z/.
went went: not want or when. Went has an e and ends in t.
were were: not where. Were has no h. Rhymes with her.
when when: not went. When starts w-h, has no t and asks about time.
where where: not were. Where has an h and asks about a place. Rhymes with air.
who who: not how. Who starts w-h, which says /h/ here. Rhymes with do and too.

Sound-alikes 20

buy buy: sounds the same as by and bye. Buy has a silent u and means to pay for.
by by: sounds the same as buy and bye. By means next to.
bye bye: sounds the same as by and buy. Bye ends in e and is said when leaving.
for for: sounds the same as four. Three letters: for you, for me.
four four: sounds the same as for. The number 4, with a u in it.
hear hear: sounds the same as here. Hear has ear in it.
here here: sounds the same as hear. Here is a place: this spot.
know know: sounds the same as no. The k is silent.
no no: sounds the same as know. Two letters, and the o says its name.
one one: sounds the same as won. The number 1. No letter spells its first sound, /w/.
right right: sounds the same as write. The gh is silent. Right is correct, or not left.
their their: sounds the same as there. Their means it belongs to them.
there there: sounds the same as their. There is a place, and it has here in it.
to to: sounds the same as too and two. Two letters: go to, want to.
too too: sounds the same as to and two. Two o's. It means also, or more than enough.
two two: sounds the same as to and too. The number 2. The w is silent.
won won: sounds the same as one. Won starts with w and is about winning.
wood wood: sounds the same as would. Two o's, as in book. Wood comes from trees.
would would: sounds the same as wood. The l is silent.
write write: sounds the same as right. The w is silent. You write with a pencil.

Long words 20

already already: one l, so it is not all ready. The ea says short e, as in bread.
another another: an, then other. The o says /u/, as in cup. Rhymes with mother.
beautiful beautiful: starts b-e-a-u, four letters that say /byoo/. Ends f-u-l, with one l.
because because: be, then cause. The au says /aw/ or /u/, and the s says /z/.
believe believe: the ie says e, as in see. The last e is silent.
between between: be-tween, two beats. The ee says e. Rhymes with green and seen.
children children: child, then r-e-n. The i is long in child and short in children.
different different: often said in two beats, diff-rent, so the second e gets lost. Two f's.
enough enough: the ou says /u/, as in cup, and the gh says /f/. Rhymes with stuff.
favorite favorite: often said in two beats, fave-rit, so the o gets lost. The last e is silent.
friend friend: the i is not heard. Fri, then end. Rhymes with send.
important important: im-por-tant, three beats. It ends a-n-t.
people people: the eo says e, as in see, and the o is not heard. Ends l-e.
picture picture: pic, then ture, which says /cher/. Two beats.
question question: qu says /kw/, and tion says /chun/. Two beats.
something something: some and thing, joined. The e of some is silent.
sometimes sometimes: some and times, joined. The o of some says /u/, as in cup.
together together: to, get, her: three small words in a row.
tomorrow tomorrow: one m, two r's. Three beats: to-mor-row.
usually usually: usual plus l-y, so it has two l's. The s says /zh/, as in measure.

How it works

These hard sight words are 60 common words that are easy to mix up or misspell, sorted by why: look-alikes, sound-alikes and long words. The back of each card has a sentence, and a line names what to watch.

Read the full guide

Three reasons a word is hard

The page opens on twenty look-alikes: was and saw, then and than, of and off, though, through and thought. Sound-alikes has twenty that the ear cannot tell apart, such as to, too and two. Long words has twenty where a letter is hard to hear, such as different and favorite.

One card at a time

The child reads the word aloud. Press Show answer to turn the card and check the sentence together; after that the print links sit under the card. Each set of twenty prints on two sheets of Letter or A4. The other two sets are under Show only.

Lay was and saw side by side and have the child point to the first letter of each.
For to, too and two, read the three card backs aloud and ask which spelling each sentence needs.
Clap the beats of a long word, then write one part for each clap.

Questions and answers

What are the hard sight words?

Our list has 60 in three sets. Look-alikes include was and saw, were and where, of and off. Sound-alikes include there and their, know and no. Long words include because, friend and people. Every word is listed under the cards.

Why are look-alikes such difficult sight words?

A child who reads by the first letter and the outline cannot tell from from form, or quite from quiet. Each card names the letter that settles it: went has an e, want has an a.

How do I teach sound-alikes such as there and their?

By meaning, since the ear gives no help. Each card back is a sentence that only one spelling fits: Put it over there. They love their dog. Read it aloud, then ask which spelling it needs.

Are there harder sight words after these?

The long words are the hardest set here: different, favorite, usually and beautiful each lose or change a sound in speech. For words with a part to learn by heart, see the heart words list.

Is this a published sight word list?

No. The 60 words are our own choice of common words that are easy to mix up or misspell. No published list is copied and no grade is claimed, so check them against the list your school uses.

Notes

Sheets, puzzles and cards made here are practice material. They are not an assessment, they follow no single curriculum, and they do not replace a specialist's advice about a child's handwriting or learning.

More notes about this page

Facts on this page were checked against standard reference sources. If you spot a mistake, please tell us through the contact page.

How this list was compiled: Own work: our own choice of 60 common words that are easy to mix up or misspell, sorted into look-alikes, sound-alikes and long words, with a sentence and a line written for each. It is not a published word list and claims no grade level. Checked on 2026-10-01: every pair or trio in the sound-alikes set shares one pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/master/cmudict.dict, which follows American speech; the rhymes, the silent letters (the w of two and write, the k of know, the l of would, the gh of right), the s that says /z/ in was and because, the f that says /v/ in of and the beats counted in the long words were compared with the same dictionary. Spellings of every word in the sentences were checked against a standard English word list. Licence: own work