Sight Word An Worksheet

Press Print worksheet for a sheet on the word an, which children write as "and" or "in".

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comananananananananananTrace it. Then write it.Find "an". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.anandatonananananyanamanasanandamaanatin
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comWrite the missing word. Then read the sentence.Read the sentence. Then write it.Cut out the letters at the bottom. Glue them here in order to build the word.I ateapple.He has an old hat.na
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comFind "an". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Write the missing word. Then read the sentence.Cut out the letters at the bottom. Glue them here in order to build the word.Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.Answer keyan7andatonananananyanamanasanandamaanatinI ateapple.ananna
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The word "an" on 2 pages and 1 page of answers, Letter landscape.

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What goes on the sheet
Pick from the 12 sentences with "an"

The whole list is under the tool. With scripts on, each line here can be pressed to put it on the sheet.

Next step Make the sheet for a, the form used before a consonantMake the sheet for and, an with a d on the end

The sight words and their practice lines

The word on its own 3

  • an 2 letters for 2 sounds: short a, then n. Neither letter is tall and neither has a tail, so the whole word sits between the dashed line and the base line.
  • An an Capital A beside small a. The capital is for the start of a sentence, as in An owl is up late.
  • an an an an Four to trace in one row. Each n starts with a short stick down, then one hump. A second hump would turn the word into am.

Spot-the-word rows 4

  • an am an at as an Circle an 3 times. Am, at and as share the a. Am is the closest: its m is an n with one more hump.
  • an and an any an Circle an 3 times. And and any both begin with a-n and then keep going, so look for the space right after the n.
  • an in an on an Circle an 3 times. In and on end in the same n, and only the first letter differs. Said quickly, an and in sound almost alike.
  • man an can an ran Circle an 2 times. Man, can and ran carry the word behind one extra letter, which is also why all three rhyme with it.
Show all 34 practice lines (27 more)

Missing-letter rows 3

  • a_ _n a_ _n One letter is missing each time: n, then a, then n, then a. Say the word, then write the letter you cannot see.
  • a_ ant a_ egg a_ ox Every blank takes an n, because ant, egg and ox each start with a vowel sound. Fill the blanks, then read the row aloud.
  • an a_ __ A fading row: trace the word, write its second letter, then write the whole word from memory.

An before a, e, i, o and u 12

  • a hen and an egg A, and, an: three look-alikes in one line. A goes before hen, an goes before egg, and the word and joins the two.
  • an ant Before short a. Ant is the word an with a t on the end, so the child writes a-n twice. Both words sound out.
  • an apple Before short a. Clap ap-ple as two beats; the le at the end is a team to learn whole.
  • an egg Before short e. Egg sounds out and doubles its last letter. Try saying a egg: the voice has to stop between the two vowels.
  • an hour The h in hour is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes an. House keeps its h, so it is a house.
  • an inch Before short i. Inch ends in the letter team ch. Show an inch on a ruler, then measure a pencil.
  • an old hat A hat, but an old hat. The choice belongs to whatever word comes next, and old starts with a long o.
  • an owl Owl opens with the ow of cow. That is a vowel sound, so the n stays.
  • an owl and a fox The same three small words in a new order. An goes before owl and a goes before fox, which sounds out.
  • an ox Before short o. Two letters, a space, two letters: the shortest phrase in the list, and both words sound out.
  • an umbrella Before short u. At 8 letters umbrella is the longest word in these lines. Clap it as um-brel-la.
  • an uncle Uncle starts with short u, so it takes an. Unicorn starts with a yoo sound, so it is a unicorn: the sound decides, not the letter.

Sentences to read and copy 12

  • A cat saw an owl. 5 words with both forms: a before cat and an before owl. Saw has the aw of paw.
  • An ant is on my leg. 6 words, the longest line here. An, ant and on sit close together, so the child has to read each one to the end.
  • An owl is up late. 5 words. Up sounds out; late has a silent e. Ask who else is up late, then draw the owl.
  • An ox is big. 4 words. The word comes first here, so it takes a capital A. Ox and big sound out.
  • Can I have an egg? 5 words and a question mark. Can holds the target word after a c. Have is one to know whole.
  • Dad cut an inch off. 5 words. Dad, cut and inch sound out, and off doubles its last letter. Show how long an inch is with two fingers.
  • He has an old hat. 5 words. Take out old and the sentence needs a in place of an: He has a hat. Read it both ways.
  • I ate an apple. 4 words. Ate has a silent e that makes its a say its name. The a in an and the a in apple both stay short.
  • I have an idea. 4 words. Idea begins with a long i, the letter saying its own name. Clap it as i-de-a, three beats.
  • Is that an elf? 4 words and a question mark. Elf sounds out: e, l, f. That opens with the buzzing th of the and this.
  • It is an egg. 4 words, and none has more than 3 letters. It and egg sound out; the s in is sounds like z.
  • We sat for an hour. 5 words. Sat sounds out. Hour has a silent h, which is why an comes before it.

How this list was compiled: Every line was written for this site on 2026-09-18 and read aloud for sense. No line is taken from a published sight word list or workbook, and the page claims no list or grade level for the word. Spellings were checked against the macOS system word list on 2026-09-18. The counts in the spot-the-word rows and the word counts of the sentences were worked out. That an goes before a vowel sound whatever the first letter is, with an hour as the example of a silent h, and that words starting with a yoo sound such as unicorn now take a: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_articles (checked 2026-09-18) and https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/an (usage notes, checked 2026-09-18). That unstressed an is said like unstressed and and unstressed in: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/an (pronunciation and homophones, checked 2026-09-18). Sound notes describe general American pronunciation. Licence: own work

How it works

An sounds out, yet children write "and" or "in" for it, or "a egg" for an egg. This sight word an sheet has them trace it and circle it among "and", "in" and "on". Then they finish I ate ___ apple.

Read the full guide

The n that comes and goes

An is the older form. Wikipedia's article on English articles traces it to Old English an, meaning one. Its n wore away before consonants by the 15th century and left a. Before a vowel sound the n stayed, so close to the next word that English has misplaced it. A napron became an apron, and an ewt became a newt. A child who writes a negg hears what those writers heard. Sound decides, not spelling: an hour, but a unicorn.

One phrase for each vowel

Five of the 12 phrases in the list under the tool make a vowel set: an ant, an egg, an inch, an ox, an umbrella. Type one into A sentence with it to print it. Save an hour for later.

  • Have the child say a egg, then an egg. The first makes the voice stop. The n is the bridge.
  • Both letters stay under the dashed line. An n whose stick climbs to the top line reads as h.
  • M is n with one more hump. When am turns up for an, count humps aloud.

Questions and answers

Why does my student write and or in where an belongs?

Unstressed, the three shrink to nearly the same quick sound. Wiktionary lists unstressed and and in as homophones of an. Say the sentence slowly, one tap per word. Then write a hen and an egg, which holds "a", "and" and "an" in one line.

Should a and an be taught together?

Start with a, then bring in an as the form it takes before a vowel sound. Two sentences show the switch: A cat saw an owl. carries both, and He has an old hat. needs a once old is taken out.

Is an a sight word or a decodable word?

Decodable: short a, then n, the same two sounds that end can, man and ran. It earns sight practice because it is so easy to take for and, in or a when a child reads fast.

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