Sight Word By Worksheet

Press Print worksheet for a sheet on the word by, which sounds the same as buy and bye.

The sheet shows the word "by". Type your own word to replace it.

What you type stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to us.

NameDateMade at homeroomtools.combybybybybybybybybybyTrace it. Then write it.Find "by". Circle it every time. How many did you find?Read it. Say it. Spell it aloud.bybybugboybuymybybedaybaybuybebydaybugbyebybyby
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.Sitme.Go by bus to buy it.yb
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comFind "by". 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 keyby6bybugboybuymybybedaybaybuybebydaybugbyebybybySitme.bybyyb
Page 1 of 3

The word "by" on 2 pages and 1 page of answers, Letter landscape.

More options
What goes on the sheet
Pick from the 12 sentences with "by"

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 my, the other word where y says iMake the sheet for be, the b word it is mistaken for

The sight words and their practice lines

The word on its own 3

  • by 2 letters for 2 sounds: b, then a y that says the name of the letter i. The b climbs to the top line and the y drops its tail under the base line, so this small word uses the whole height of the guide lines.
  • By by Capital B beside small b. The capital has two bumps and the small letter has one. A sentence that opens with the word needs the capital, as in By noon it was hot.
  • by by by by by Five to trace in one row. Each one goes up for the b and down for the y: check that the five tails hang to the same depth.
Show all 34 practice lines (31 more)

Spot-the-word rows 4

  • boy by bay by bug Circle by 2 times. Boy and bay slip a vowel between the b and the y, and the y stops saying i. Bug starts the same way and ends in a letter with the same kind of tail.
  • buy by bye by Circle by 2 times. All four words sound the same, so the ear is no help here. Buy hides a u in the middle and bye carries an e on the end; by has only two letters.
  • by be by my by Circle by 3 times. Be keeps the b and swaps the last letter. My keeps the y and swaps the first. Both are two letters long, like by.
  • by day by dry by Circle by 3 times. Day and dry end in y and start with d, the letter a b becomes when its bump lands on the wrong side. Dry rhymes with by; day does not.

Missing-letter rows 3

  • b_ _y b_ _y One letter is missing each time: y, then b, then the same again. Say the word, then write the letter.
  • b_ m_ tr_ wh_ The same letter is missing four times: y, to make by, my, try and why. In all four the y comes last and says the name of the letter i.
  • by b_ _y __ A fading row: copy the word, fill in each letter once, then write both from memory.

Phrases: by a place, by a way, by a time, by a maker, step by step 12

  • a song by Dad By names the maker. Children sign their own work the same way: the title, then by and a name. Song ends in n-g.
  • bit by bit Slowly, a small piece after a small piece. Three b words in a row: check that every bump faces right.
  • by bus By tells how someone travels, and there is no the in the middle. Two b words in a row, and bus sounds out.
  • by hand By tells how a thing is done: with hands, not a machine. Hand sounds out and ends in the blend n-d.
  • by my side Next to again. By and my rhyme and sit together, so only the first letter changes. Side has a silent e that makes the i say its name.
  • by myself With no help, or with no one else. Myself is my and self joined up, so this phrase holds both rhyming words: by and my.
  • by noon By sets a time limit: at noon or before it, not after. Noon reads the same forward and backward.
  • by the door By means next to. Door is a word to learn whole: its double o says or, not the oo of moon.
  • by the sea Where a beach house stands. Sea ends in an ea that says long e, and it sounds just like see.
  • day by day A little more each day. Day and by both end in y, but the y in day teams up with the a to say long a.
  • side by side One word, then by, then the same word again. It means next to each other, the way partners walk in line.
  • step by step The same frame. It means one small part after another. Step starts with the blend s-t and sounds out.

Sentences to read and copy 12

  • A bug ran by my bag. 6 words, and three of them start with b and end in a letter with a tail. By means past. Bug, ran and bag all sound out.
  • A bus went by. 4 words. Here by means past: the bus did not stop. The word comes last, just ahead of the period. Bus and went sound out.
  • Be home by six. 4 words. By sets a time limit: six o'clock or before. Be and by both start with b, so check the second letter of each.
  • By noon it was hot. 5 words. The word comes first, so it takes a capital B. By sets the time. Hot sounds out; was is a word to learn whole.
  • Go by bus to buy it. 6 words. By and buy sound the same. By tells how to travel. Buy, with a u in the middle, means to pay for a thing.
  • I did it by myself. 5 words: a line a child is proud to write. Did and it sound out. Myself holds my, the rhyme of by.
  • I sat by the fire. 5 words. By means next to. Sat sounds out; fire has a silent e that makes the i say its name.
  • I will be by the tree. 6 words. Be and by stand side by side. One ends in e and the other in y, and that letter is the whole difference.
  • Say bye by the door. 5 words. Bye and by sound the same and sit next to each other. Bye, the word for leaving, carries an e on the end.
  • Sit by me. 3 words, and every one is two or three letters long. By means next to. Sit sounds out; me ends in a long e.
  • This book is by me. 5 words. By names the maker, so this is the line for the cover of a stapled class book. Book has the oo of look.
  • We went by train. 4 words. By tells how they went. Train starts with the blend t-r, and its ai says long a.

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; Mom is not in that list and was checked separately. The counts in the spot-the-word rows and the word counts of the sentences were worked out. That by is said with the vowel of my, and that buy and bye are said exactly like it: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/by (pronunciation and homophones, checked 2026-09-18). The jobs of by used to sort the phrases and sentences (near, past, not later than, the one who made it, the means, one step after another) are senses listed on the same page. That a y says the name of the letter i at the end of a stressed open syllable, as in my, and works with the vowel in front of it at the end of words such as play and boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y (English, checked 2026-09-18). Licence: own work

How it works

By sounds out once a final y can say i. The catch: buy and bye sound the same. This sight word by worksheet has them trace it, circle it among be, my, buy and bye, and finish Sit ___ me.

Read the full guide

By, buy and bye: one sound, three spellings

Wiktionary lists buy and bye as words said exactly like by, so the ear cannot tell the three apart. Meaning has to. Buy is about paying and keeps a u inside. Bye is for leaving and carries an e. By, the shortest, does everything else. Two sentences pair them up: Say bye by the door. and Go by bus to buy it.

One small word, five jobs

Each job has lines near the foot of this page, under The sight words and their practice lines. Next to: by the door, Sit by me. Past: A bus went by. How: by bus, by hand. Not later than: by noon, Be home by six. Who made it: a song by Dad, This book is by me.

  • Children can sign work with this word: under a drawing's title, add by and a first name.
  • The b climbs to the top line and the y drops under the base line. Watch for a floating by.
  • A reversed b turns by into dy, which is no word, so have the child read it back.

Questions and answers

How do I teach by apart from buy and bye?

Write the row buy by bye by and ask for 2 circles. Then say a short sentence aloud, such as I will buy milk, and have the child point to the spelling that fits the meaning.

Can by be sounded out, or does it need memorizing?

It sounds out once one pattern is known. A y that ends a short word such as my says the name of the letter i. Write the missing-letter row b_ m_ tr_ wh_ on the board. It asks for that y 4 times.

What are good sentences for the sight word by?

Short ones where every other word sounds out: Sit by me. A bus went by. Be home by six. Hold back the two sentences that mix by with bye and buy until the three spellings are secure.

More tools

Show 5 more

Browse Handwriting